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DEPARTMENTAL   TEACHING    IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  •    BOSTON  •    CHICAGO 
ATLANTA  •    SAN   FRANaSCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


Departmental  Teaching 
in  Elementary  Schools 


BY 
VAN  EVRIE  KILPATRICK,  A.  M. 


ILLUSTRATED 


il5cto  gork 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1908 

All  rilhtt  reserved 

^tV    1908 


h 


Copyright,  1908 
By  the  macmillan  company 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Printed  March  igo7 


THE     MASON-HENRY     PRESS 
SYRACUSE,     N.     Y. 


Edncfttioe 
Library 

PREFACE 

Ever  since  President  Charles  W.  Eliot 
of  Harvard  emphasized  the  necessity  of  en- 
riching the  elementary  curriculum  through 
departmental  teaching,  there  have  been  a 
number  of  efforts  in  various  cities  of  the 
country  to  try  out  the  suggestion. 

Dr.  William  H.  Maxwell,  the  chief  ex- 
ponent of  departmental  teaching  in  the 
United  States,  has  encouraged  its  growth  in 
New  York  City  during  the  last  seven  years. 

It  has  there  become  the  prevailing 
method  of  teaching  in  the  last  two  years  of 
the  elementary  schools.  Its  success  is  pro- 
nounced. Numerous  inquiries  indicate  that 
the  leaders  of  other  educational  systems  are 
greatly  interested  in  the  new  departure. 

In  adding  to  the  literature  of  the  subject, 
I  have  written  entirely  from  the  standpoint 
of  a  teacher.  I  have  spoken  from  years  of 
experience,  both  in  private  and  in  public 


vi  PREFACE 

schools.  I  have  taught  in  schools  where 
the  departmental  plan  was  not  used  and  in 
schools  where  it  was  used.  I  have  taught 
in  large  schools  and  in  small  schools.  I 
have  organized  departmental  teaching  and 
have  supervised  it. 

Out  of  all  these  years  of  experience  has 
grown  a  positive  conviction  that  a  proper 
form  of  departmental  teaching  would  bring 
a  wealth  of  gain  to  any  elementary  school. 
But  it  must  be  effectively  adapted. 

The  purpose  of  this  little  treatise  has 
been  to  present  the  most  effective  plan  of 
adaptation  and  use.  An  effort  has  also 
been  made  to  base  the  plan  upon  well- 
known  principles  of  school  organization. 
These  principles  may  seem  commonplace, 
but  they  are  necessarily  fundamental. 

I  have  never  witnessed  a  failure  in 
departmental  teaching,  but  that  I  have 
marveled  why  it  did  not  take  place  before 
it  really  did,  as  the  mistakes  in  method 
were    plainly   apparent.    This  work   has, 


PREFACE  vii 

therefore,  been  made  for  the  most  part  a 
practical  text-book  of  method. 

I  have  never  listened  to  a  speaker,  or 
read  an  author,  who  argued  against  de- 
partmental teaching,  but  that  I  have  ob- 
served that  they  objected  to  conditions  and 
results  which  should  not  exist  in  a  depart- 
mental system. 

They  have  all  voiced  with  unstinted  zeal 
the  shortcomings  of  the  special  teacher 
system  as  belonging  alike  to  the  depart- 
mental. This  work  has,  therefore,  been 
made  argumentative. 

They  have  all  voiced  with  unstinted  zeal 
opposed  to  the  departmental,  but  it  is  even 
supplanted  by  the  departmental  plan. 

The  value  of  both  the  special  teacher  sys- 
tem and  the  one-teacher  plan  is  preserved  in 
the  new  common-subject  plan  of  depart- 
mental teaching. 

Van  Evrie  Kilpatrick. 

Public  School  52,  New  York, 
February,  1908. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

Introduction    i 

1.  Definition    i 

2.  No   Educational    Panacea 2 

3.  Historical    Statement    3 

4.  Special   Teacher   Phase 4 

5.  Nomenclature     8 

CHAPTER  H. 

Advantages    11 

1.  Expert   Teaching    i2 

2.  Improved    Discipline    13 

3.  Improved    Physical    Conditions    17 

4.  Better  Equipment    20 

5.  Enriched    Curriculum    23 

6.  Unity  and   Force  in  School   Management 25 

7.  Other  Considerations   30 

(a)  High    School    Articulation 30 

(b)  Greater  Interest   30 

(c)  Teachers  will  be  Attracted 31 

(d)  Teachers  will  be  Better  Prepared 31 

(e)  Distribution   of   Sex    Control 32 

(f )  Recreation   Provided    32 

(g)  Special  Talent  Developed 32 

(h)  Responsibility    and    Independence    of    Children 

Developed    32 

(i)    Individuality    Increased    33 

(j)    Favoritism   Lessened    33 

CHAPTER  III 

Objections    34 

I.     Overwork    36 

ix 


CONTENTS 

Correlation  Difficult    37 

Teachers    Become    Narrowminded 41 

School  Organization  May  Become  More  Difficult. . .  44 

Teacher's  Personal   Influence  Lessened... 46 

Miscellaneous    Objections    47 

The  New,  Absent  or   Incompetent  Teacher 49 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Principles  of  Adaptation 51 

1.  The  Prime  Functions  of  the  Teacher 51 

(a)  Relation   to  the  Pupil 51 

(b)  Relation   to  the  Branches  of  Study 53 

(c)  Relation  to  the  School 54 

2.  The  Threefold  Nature  of  the  Child 56 

(a)  The  Intellectual   Nature 56 

(b)  The    Moral    Nature , 56 

(c)  The    Physical    Nature 59 

CHAPTER  V. 

Plan    of   Adaptation 61 

1.  Personal    Control    of    Children 61 

2.  Presentation    of    Studies 62 

(a)  A   Common   Subject — English 62 

(b)  Departmental    Studies     65 

3.  Faculty    Organization    66 

4.  Equipment    of    Departments 67 

5.  Movement   of    Classes 69 

6.  The  Introductory   Organization    69 

(a)  Selection    of    Classes 69 

(b)  Assignment   of   Studies 71 

(c)  Preparation   of   Program    77 

Particular  Advantages  of  the  Common-Subject  Plan 

OF  Departmental  Organization 77 

1.  Personal   Control   of  Children  is   Secured 77 

2.  School  Management  is  Simplified 78 


CONTENTS  xi 

3.     The  Plan  is  easily  Adaptable  to  all  Ordinary  School 

Conditions.     Two   Grades  to  a  Teacher 78 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Details   of  Adaptation 81 

z.    Assignment  of   Studies    81 

2.  Programme 82 

3.  Coordination    of    Departments 82 

4.  Length   of   Periods 83 

5.  Movement    of    Classes 84 

6.  Study    85 

7.  Discipline    87 

8.  Attendance    87 

9.  Correlation    90 

10.  Absent    Teachers    90 

11.  Records    and    Reports 93 

12.  Spelling    and    Penmanship 93 

13.  Text-books    and    Supplies 94 

14.  Fire  Drills  and  Regular  Dismissals 94 

15.  Detention     95 

16.  Signals   95 

17.  Location    of   Departments 96 

18.  Management  of  School  Implements 96 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Mistakes  in  Adaptation 98 

1.  All    Studies    Departmentalized 100 

2.  Children  not  moved  from  Room  to  Room 101 

3.  Music  and  Drawing  not  Departmentalized 101 

4-     Class  Teachers  held  responsible  for  all  Discipline...  io2 

5.  Departments   of   Unrelated   Studies 102 

6.  No  Head  of  Department 103 

7.  No   Effective    Study   Period 103 

8.  Promotion  not.  Proportionate 104 

9.  Too    much    Presentation 104 

10.    Too  many  Teachers  in  a  Departmental  Division...  105 


xH  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Limitations    io6 

1.  Size    of    School 106 

2.  Size  of  Class  and  Room 106 

3.  Part  of  the  Course  to  be  Departmentalized 107 

4.  Number    of    Teachers 108 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Other  Plans  of  Departmental  Teaching 109 

1.  The  Study-Hall  Method 109 

2.  All  Teaching   under   Specialists iii 

3.  The    Peripatetic    Method in 

4.  A  Departmental  Unit  for  each  Year 112 

CHAPTER  X. 

General   Considerations    114 

I.     Optional    Introduction    114 

"zx  Preparation    of  Teachers    114 

3;     Examination    of    Teachers 116 

4.  Comparative   Results    117 

5.  Units    of    Work    118 

6.  Laboratory    Work     120 

f.  1   Individual    Education    i2i 

APPENDIX. 

Special  Description  of  Illustrations 125 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plate        I :  Special  Departmental  Room 68 

Plate       II :  Teachers*  Programmes 73 

Plate     III :  Teachers'  Programmes 74 

Plate      IV :  Class  Programmes 75 

Plate        V:  Class  Programmes 76 

Plate      VI:  A     Model     Departmental     Programme      in 

Graphic  Outline 80 

Plate     VII:  Special  Departmental  Attendance  Record 88 

Plate  VIII:  Special  Departmental  Attendance  Record....  89 

Plate      IX:  Departmental  Report  Card   (Face) 91 

Plate       X:  Departmental   Report   Card    (Back) 92 

Plate     XI:  Pupils'  Box  for  Holding  Pencils  and  other 

Articles,   97 

xiii 


DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 
IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION 

I  That  method  of  school  organization  un- 
der which  each  teacher  in  an  elementary 
school  instructs  in  one  subject  or  in  one 
group  of  related  subjects  only  is  generally 
known  as  departmental  teaching.  This 
plan  of  teaching  is  very  well  understood 

^  from  the  almost  universal  practice  in  high 
schools  and  colleges. 

It  has  also  been  employed  in  varying  de- 

U  grees  in  the  private  elementary  schools, 
.  and,  for  that  reason,  its  general  manner  of 
use  with  young  children  has  long  been  com- 
prehended. The  employment  of  the  de- 
partmental plan  in  private  schools  has 
doubtless  been  continued,  both  because  more 


2  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

effective,  and  because  it  has  been  held  up 
as  a  point  of  superiority  over  public  school 
methods. 

This  work  will  attempt  to  put  forward 
a  most  practical  plan  of  departmental 
teaching.  It  has  been  developed  from  ex- 
perience and  from  elementary  principles 
of  pedagogy.  But  it  must  not  be  imagined 
that  this  modern  adaptation  of  an  old  meth- 
od will  cure  all  the  ills  of  the  ordinary 
graded  school.  No  educational  panacea  is 
being  recommended. 

Following  the  natural  laws  of  growth  in 
the  social  and  economic  world,  the  time  is 
ripe  for  this  application  of  these  laws  in  a 
modified  adaptation  of  departmental  teach- 
ing in  elementary  schools. 

The  experience  of  the  last  few  years  very 
forcefully  indicates  that  this  system  of 
school  organization  will  surely  improve  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  depending  upon  the 
judgment  and  enthusiasm  of  the  intro- 
ducers, the  results  in  any  elementary  school. 


INTRODUCTION  3 

Departmental  teaching,  however,  as  a 
plan  of  teaching,  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  tried  to  any  wide  extent  in  public  ele- 
mentary schools,  until  within  the  last  ten 
years.  Isolated  schools  in  Brooklyn,  Bos- 
ton, and  other  cities  have  reported  that 
they  have  used  departmental  teaching  for 
a  number  of  years. 

The  study-hall  form  of  departmental 
teaching  was  used  to  a  considerable  extent 
wherever  buildings  of  that  plan  were  con- 
structed. Judging  from  meager  reports, 
this  plan  was  doubtless  in  use  in  many  sec- 
tions of  the  East  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago. 

Some  twenty-five  years  ago  a  general 
demand  in  our  large  cities  for  more  expert 
teaching,  especially  of  the  newer  branches, 
resulted  in  the  special-teacher  phase  of 
elementary  instruction.  This  has  been  con- 
founded with  departmental  teaching  be- 
cause it  is  a  certain  manifestation  of  the 
desire  to  improve  instruction  in  any  given 
branch. 


4  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

The  growth  of  the  employment  of  the 
special  teacher  in  the  public  educational 
systems  of  our  country  is  really  a  most  in- 
teresting chapter  in  the  history  of  depart- 
mental teaching. 

It  has  shown  that  educational  leaders 
have  begun  to  realize  that  one  teacher  can- 
not effectively  teach  all  the  branches  of  the 
curriculum,  so  the  special  teacher  was  ap- 
pointed to  proceed  on  his  peripatetic  round. 
The  strength  and  weakness  of  this  system 
only  pointed  out  the  more  clearly  the 
necessity  of  a  specially  equipped  teacher  in 
each  branch.  To  completely  secure  the 
well  recognized  advantages  of  expert  teach- 
ing, it  is  necessary  to  select  the  best  system 
of  applying  the  principle.  The  special 
teacher  has  come,  and  is  continuing  to 
teach  in  public  school  systems  of  our  cities, 
but  no  one  as  yet  seems  to  look  upon  his 
position  as  afifording  a  basis  for  a  better 
system.  There  is  a  disposition  to  look  upon 
the  plan  as  an  excrescence.    Many  educators 


INTRODUCTION  5 

have,  doubtless,  had  the  special  teacher  sys- 
tem in  mind  when  bringing  forward  objec- 
tions to  the  departmental  plan.  The  two 
methods  are,  however,  widely  separated. 

No  extended  adoption  of  the  depart- 
mental plan  seems  to  have  occurred  until 
about  the  year  1900.  It  was  then  intro- 
duced in  New  York  City. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  William  H. 
Maxwell,  City  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
a  number  of  elementary  schools  began  the 
new  method  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years 
of  the  course. 

The  great  majority  of  these  schools  were 
successful,  and  this  system  of  organization 
rapidly  spread  until  at  the  present  time 
there  are  over  150  elementary  schools  so 
organized. 

The  feeling  in  New  York  City  relative 
to  the  new  plan  of  teaching  may  be  gath- 
ered from  an  epitome  of  several  reports 
which  have  been  made  public  from  time  to 
time. 


6  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

The  fifth  annual  report  of  Superintend- 
ent Maxwell,  contains  the  replies  to  a  circu- 
lar letter  to  principals  relative  to  depart- 
mental teaching.  These  replies  show  that 
the  majority  of  principals  are  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  new  plan.  For  example,  124 
out  of  132  principals  reported  the  "interest 
of  teachers"  as  "highly  satisfactory,"  or 
"greatly  increased,"  while  no  out  of  132 
presented  the  same  report  relative  to  the 
"interest  of  pupils." 

Dr.  Edward  W.  Stitt,  District  Superin- 
tendent conducted  a  questionnaire  among 
the  43  departmental  teachers  of  the  8th  and 
1 2th  districts,  in  the  form  of  an  Australian 
ballot,  so  that  each  teacher  felt  free  to  ex- 
press his  unbiased  opinion..  In  answer  to 
the  question,  "Are  you  in  favor  of  depart- 
mental instruction?"  39  answered  "Yes," 
2  were  undecided,  and  2  answered  "No." 

Mr.  John  W.  Rafferty,  Principal  of  Pub- 
lic School  19,  Brooklyn,  took  a  vote  of  his 
departmental  pupils  in  such  a  way  as  to  se- 


INTRODUCTION  7 

cure  a  free  opinion,  and  found  that  241  out 
of  294  voted  in  favor  of  departmental  in- 
struction. 

In  1905,  Dr.  William  H.  Maxwell  sent 
out  a  circular  letter  which  sought  the 
opinions  of  principals  with  reference  to  the 
value  of  departmental  teaching  in  the  last 
two  years  of  the  course,  and  whether  its 
adoption  should  be  made  compulsory.  A 
large  majority  expressed  themselves  as 
highly  in  favor  of  departmental  teaching 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years,  but  they 
opposed  the  proposition  to  make  its  adoption 
compulsory,  and  hence  in  New  York  the 
principal  of  each  school  may  or  may  not 
organize  his  school  according  to  the  de- 
partmental plan. 

Following  the  wide  adoption  of  depart- 
mental work  in  New  York  City,  several 
cities  in  New  York  State  and  throughout 
the  Middle  West  have  reported  an  increas- 
ing number  of  schools  which  have  adopted 
it. 


8  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

Albany  has  several  schools  which  are 
organized  departmentally.  Syracuse,  Buf- 
falo, Troy,  and  other  cities  are  trying  the 
plan.  In  other  states,  Chicago,  Philadel- 
phia, and  Boston  have  shown  the  greatest 
interest  in  the  movement. 

Considerable  difficulty  has  been  found  in 
fixing  a  proper  nomenclature  for  this  sys- 
tem. Certain  circumlocutions  and  inac- 
curate expressions  are  being  used  both  in 
elementary  and  high  schools  in  connection 
with  the  departments  as  applied  to  school 
organization. 

The  system  of  school  organization  under 
which  a  single  teacher  or  one  teacher  in- 
structs the  pupils  of  a  certain  class  in  all 
the  studies  of  a  grade  has  no  term  by  which 
it  is  commonly  distinguished.  Many  speak 
of  it  as  the  graded  system,  but  the  depart- 
mental system  is  likewise  a  graded  system. 
For  the  same  reason  it  cannot  be  called  the 
class  system.  Seizing  upon  its  chief  char- 
acteristic, this  work  denominates  it  as  the 


INTRODUCTION 


single-teacher  plan.  Some  have  felt  that 
"single"  might  be  taken  in  the  sense  "un- 
married," but  this  use  will  rarely  if  ever  be 
taken  from  the  context.  If  "single-teacher 
system"  should  be  accepted  as  a  proper 
terminology,  its  other  meaning  w^ill  soon  be 
lost.  "One-teacher  system"  has  been  used, 
but  this  name,  too,  is  somewhat  objection- 
able. The  latter  name  may,  however, 
prove  the  better. 

Again,  it  has  been  found  very  difficult 
to  select  an  appropriate  title  for  the  teacher 
who  has  personal  charge  of  a  group  or  class 
of  children.  The  terms  "official  teacher", 
"official  class  teacher",  "class  adviser", 
"class  officer",  and  "class  teacher"  have 
been  variously  used. 

Following  the  usage  at  Princeton  in 
naming  one  who  discharges  a  similar  func- 
tion a  "preceptor",  this  work  highly  recom- 
mends the  employment  of  that  good  old 
word. 

So  that,  when  a  teacher  exercises  personal 


lO  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

supervision  over  a  class  as  one  responsible 
for  all  school  activities  not  comprehended 
under  the  departments,  he  is  a  preceptor, 
and  when  he  acts  as  the  teacher  of  a  de- 
partment he  is  a  departmental  teacher. 

However,  it  is  quite  practical  to  call  the 
above  mentioned  preceptor  a  class  teacher, 
and  little  confusion  need  occur.  Whenever 
class  teacher  is  used  in  this  work,  it  should 
be  understood  in  the  above  sense. 


CHAPTER  II. 
ADVANTAGES 

Before  a  school  system  decides  to  adopt 
any  new  method,  the  gains  and  losses  should 
be  very  carefully  weighed. 

Do  the  gains  overbalance  the  losses? 

Can  the  advantages  be  attained,  and  are 
they  worth  the  effort  of  reorganization? 

Are  they  based  upon  fundamental  prin- 
ciples? 

Will  they  be  of  permanent  value? 

The  grounds  of  one's  faith  should  be 
established  before  any  trial  is  made,  and 
then  the  effort  will  be  worth  while. 

The  principal  advantages  claimed  for 
departmental  teaching  in  elementary 
schools  are  expert  teaching,  improved  dis- 
cipline, improved  physical  conditions,  better 
equipment,  enriched  curriculum,  and  unity, 
and  force  in  school  management. 


12  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

I.  Expert  Teaching 

Expert  teaching  is  the  chief  claim  of  the 
departmental  plan.  It  is  evident  beyond 
the  peradventure,  as  experience  has  long 
ago  shown,  that  a  teacher  can  master 
one  subject  better  than  many.  When  he 
is  freed  from  the  confusion  and  discourage- 
ment of  preparing  properly  in  fifteen  to 
twenty  subjects,  or  parts  of  subjects,  he  can 
use  his  time  to  prepare  in  a  single  study  or 
group.  He  soon  becomes  highly  proficient 
in  the  science  of  his  branch,  as  well  as  in 
the  best  methods  of  teaching  it. 

So  it  is  important  to  note  that  by  the 
very  organization  of  the  system  itself  in  any 
school  the  teachers  tend  to  become  expert. 

If  each  teacher  becomes,  even  in  a  small 
degree,  more  expert  than  formerly,  then  the 
teaching  as  a  whole  must  improve,  and  it 
will  continue  to  improve  in  proportion  to 
the  advancement  made  by  each  teacher. 

The  system,   then,   does   not  necessarily 


ADVANTAGES  13 

need  the  specialist  upon  introduction:  it 
develops  the  specialist.  This  specialist 
may  be  only  a  specialist  in  a  small  w^ay,  but 
in  any  case  he  is  capable  of  doing  v^^ork  far 
superior  to  that  done  under  the  single- 
teacher  plan. 

Therefore,  the  pupil  is  alw^ays  placed 
under  the  direction  of  the  teacher  who  is 
best  qualified  to  instruct  in  any  given 
branch.  He  responds  at  once  to  superior 
instruction  and  profits  greatly  thereby. 

Indeed,  this  method  is  a  necessary  evolu- 
tion from  the  natural  order  of  things  in 
civilized  society.  A  man  only  excels  by 
learning  to  do  something  better  than  any 
other  man  can  do  it.  Specialization  is  the 
basal  principle  of  all  our  high  success  in  the 
arts  and  industries.  Division  of  labor  is  the 
congealed  expression  of  the  spirit  of  the 

age. 

2.  Improved  Discipline 

Most  educators  v^ill  hesitate  to  look  upon 
departmental  teaching  as  a  means  of  im- 


14  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

proving  discipline.  The  frequent  move- 
ment of  classes  is  feared  as  an  additional 
disciplinary  burden;  but  the  reasons 
which  give  departmental  teaching  this  ad- 
vantage grow  out  of  the  most  natural  laws 
of  child  nature. 

If  a  mother  should  shut  up  her  little 
child  in  a  single  room  with  but  a  few  play- 
things, he  would  very  soon  become  rebel- 
lious and  boisterous.  The  best  way  to 
quiet  him,  as  all  know,  is  to  allow  him  to 
go  into  another  room  among  new  surround- 
ings, and  his  nature  will  more  easily  re- 
spond to  control.  Just  as  simple  and  as 
natural,  as  the  above  illustration  indicates, 
is  the  movement  of  children  from  one  de- 
partment to  another.  The  exercise  itself 
serves  as  a  positive  quieting  force.  A 
normal  child  seems  rapidly  to  accumulate 
physical  energy,  which  must  have  an  out- 
let in  one  way  or  another.  If  the  plan  of 
school  organization  provides  easy  means 
for  the  exercise  of  this  energy,  it  is  so  far 


ADVANTAGES  I5 

prevented   from   exercising   itself   in   per- 
nicious channels. 

Therefore,  departmental  teaching  tends 
to  remove  one  of  the  most  fertile  causes  of 
ordinary  school  disturbances.  The  nor- 
mally active  child  is  provided  for.  He 
will  respond  at  once  to  more  natural 
treatment. 

The  reasons  why  departmental  teaching 
secures  better  disciplinary  conditions  may 
be  summed  up  as  follows: 

a.  The  movement  from   room  to   room 
is  a  great  and  necessary  physical  relief. 
^   b.  The  educative  variety  of  new  teach- 
ers, new  studies,  and  new  rooms  tends  to 
keep  wholesome  thoughts  ever  present. 

c.  The  expert  teacher  is  more  interesting. 

d.  The  equipment  of  a  departmental 
room  is  more  effective. 

The  necessities  of  this  kind  of  free  move- 
ment demand  that  the  pupil  should  become 
more  and  more  his  own  master.  Added  op- 
portunities for  disorder  must  give  added  op- 


l6  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

portunities  for  self-restraint.  The  child 
will  become  more  and  more  a  free  moral 
agent.  This  element  in  discipline  is  of 
fundamental  significance.  Very  few  chil- 
dren are  really  bad  or  vicious.  Unnatural 
conditions  make  the  best  children  un- 
tractable. 

In  this  discussion  one  can  hardly  overlook 
that  large  body  of  teachers  who  will  still 
look  upon  the  fact  that  children  are  obliged 
to  move  as,  in  itself,  something  that  dis- 
turbs the  good  order  of  the  school.  It 
matters  little  to  this  class  of  teachers  how  it 
is  accomplished.  Such  an  act  to  them  re- 
mains an  unnecessary  and  gross  disturbance. 
It  is  unavailing  to  attempt  to  meet  the 
objections  of  those  who  hold  to  the  "pin 
drop  test."  Their  ideal  is  directly  opposed 
to  that  of  the  teachers  who  believe  that 
children  attend  school  primarily  to  learn 
important  life  lessons.  The  "pin  drop 
test"  adherents, — and  it  is  surprising  how 
many  of  them  are  left, — seem  to  hold  that 


ADVANTAGES  17 

children  go  to  school  chiefly  to  learn  to  be 
quiet.  Quietness  becomes  an  end  in  itself. 
They  assume  that  silence  is  the  sine  qua 
non  of  all  school  activities.  This  may  or 
may  not  be  the  case,  but  it  should  never  be 
an  aim  of  a  school,  but  rather  a  condition 
to  be  brought  about  naturally  and  inci- 
dentally. 

iThe  chief  condition  of  good  discipline  is 
found  w^hen  the  good  v^ill  and  interest  of 
the  child  in  his  work'  has  been  preserved 
and  developed.  If  that  w^ork  involves 
movement,  talking,  or  noise,  any  or  all  of 
these  manifestations  may  become  not  only 
harmless  but  markedly  beneficial. 

3.  Improved  Physical  Conditions 

Although  much  has  been  said  about  the 
necessity  of  improving  the  physical  de- 
velopment of  the  elementary  school  child, 
yet  too  little  has  been  said  or  realized  about 
the  imperative  necessity  of  improving  the 
physical  conditions  of  school  organization 


l8  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

which  act  unfavorably  upon  the  health  and 
growth  of  children. 

Children  who  remain  continuously  for 
three  hours  in  one  room,  in  a  single  seat, 
do  so  at  a  great  physical  loss.  Ordinary 
class  movements  are  insufficient.  The 
physical  relaxation  and  exercise  attending 
the  movement  of  classes  at  frequent  in- 
tervals cannot  but  prove  of  great  benefit 
to  the  general  health  and  growth  of  the 
child. 

In  this  connection,  the  following  extract 
from  the  writings  of  Horace  Mann  may  be 
cited : 

"But  to  make  small  children  sit  both  dumb  and 
motionless  for  three  successive  hours,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  brief  recess  and  two  short  lessons,  is  an 
infraction  of  every  law  which  the  Creator  has  im- 
pressed upon  both  body  and  mind.  There  is  but  one 
motive  by  which  this  violence  to  every  prompting  of 
nature  can  be  committed,  and  that  is  an  overwhelming, 
stupefying  sense  of  fear.  If  the  world  were  offered  to 
these  children  as  a  reward  for  this  prolonged  silence 
and  inaction  they  would  spurn  it.     The  deep  instinct 


ADVANTAGES  I9 

of  self-preservation  alone  is  sufficient  for  the  purpose. 
The  irreparable  injury  of  making  a  child  sit  straight, 
and  silent,  and  motionless,  for  three  continuous  hours 
with  only  two  or  three  brief  respites,  cannot  be  con- 
ceived. Its  effect  upon  the  body  is  to  inflict  severe 
pain,  to  impair  health,  to  check  the  free  circulation  in 
the  system — all  of  which  leads  to  dwarfishness — and 
to  misdirect  the  action  of  the  vital  organs,  which  leads 
to  deformity.  In  regard  to  the  intellect,  it  suppresses 
the  activity  of  every  faculty,  and,  as  it  Is  a  universal 
law  in  regard  to  them  all,  that  they  acquire  strength 
by  exercise,  and  lose  tone  and  vigor  by  inaction,  the 
inevitable  consequence  is,  both  to  diminish  the  number 
of  things  they  will  be  competent  to  do,  and  to  disable 
them  from  doing  this  limited  number  so  well  as  they 
otherwise  might.  In  regard  to  the  temper  and  morals 
the  results  are  still  more  deplorable.  To  command 
a  child  whose  mind  is  furnished  with  no  occupation 
to  sit  for  a  long  time,  silent  in  regard  to  speech,  and 
dead  in  regard  to  motion,  when  every  limb  and  organ 
aches  for  activity,  to  require  a  child  to  sit  down  in  the 
midst  of  others  whose  very  presence  acts  upon  his  social 
nature  as  gravitation  acts  upon  his  body,  and  then  to 
prohibit  all  recognition  of,  or  communication  with, 
his  fellows,  is  subjecting  him  to  a  temptation  to  dis- 
obedience which  it  is  alike  physically  and  morally  im- 
possible he  should  resist." 


20  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

The  above  passage  has  been  inserted  here 
because  it  places  such  just  emphasis  upon 
the  necessity  of  this  mobility  of  children 
as  an  educative  means.  Although  this 
scathing  rebuke  was  uttered  many  years 
ago,  it  is  surprising  to  what  extent  mere 
silence  and  immobility  remain  the  prevail- 
ing ideals  in  the  classrooms  of  to-day. 

Children  will  be  healthier  as  the  school 
organization  itself  provides  for  frequent 
movement.  This  natural  movement  is 
much  better  than  the  forced  exercises  of  a 
gymnastic  drill.  It  is  exercise  through 
living,  not  living  to  exercise. 

4.  Better  Equipment 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  encoun- 
tered by  the  regular  grade  teacher  is  to  use 
easily,  and  without  undue  friction,  the  es- 
sential apparatus  for  the  most  efifective 
teaching.  For  example,  the  material  for 
demonstrating  an  arithmetic  lesson  is  no 
sooner  brought  into   use  than  the  session 


ADVANTAGES  21 

must  end,  and  be  followed  by  a  science 
period.  Experiments  of  any  value  in 
science  require  considerable  time  and  room. 
If  this  lesson  is  taught  properly  there  will 
hardly  be  time  left  to  select  and  mount  the 
proper  map  for  a  geography  recitation 
which  follows  before  the  noon  recess.  As 
is  well  ktiown,  the  difficulties  suggested 
above  have  proved  so  great  as  to  prevent 
almost  entirely,  in  the  elementary  schools, 
the  proper  acquirement  or  use  of  needful 
equipment.  Not  only  is  there  no  time  for 
the  constant  change  of  apparatus,  but  there 
is  no  available  space  in  an  ordinary  class- 
room for  all  the  apparatus  needed  for  all 
branches.  When  to  these  limitations  is 
added  that  of  economy,  which  practically 
prohibits  the  supply  of  equipment  for  all 
subjects  in  all  rooms,  then  one  can  form 
some  idea  of  the  general  meagerness  under 
the  single-teacher  system.  But  under  the 
departmental  plan  there  is  a  marked  im- 
provement.    One  of  the  first  effects  is  that 


22  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

each  teacher  equips  his  own  department. 
The  teacher  of  history  is  on  the  lookout  for 
maps  and  charts,  the  teacher  of  arithmetic 
is  collecting  weights,  measures,  etc.,  the 
teacher  of  science,  perhaps  most  zealous  of 
all,  is  sure  to  gather  a  great  deal  of  valuable 
material  and  apparatus  to  make  instruction 
profitable  in  branches  which,  for  no  other 
reason  than  the  limitations  of  the  single- 
teacher  system,  have  long  been  a  mere  name 
in  the  elementary  curriculum. 

Then,  too,  a  department  demands  more 
than  apparatus.  In  science,  especially, 
seats  good  only  for  listening  and  writing 
are  inadequate.  Seats  which  permit  free- 
dom of  movement  are  necessary.  Or, 
rather,  no  seats  at  all,  but  tables  where  chil- 
dren can  systematically,  and  under  direc- 
tion find  out  the  simple  elementary  facts 
of  nature. 

Man  is  not  naturally  a  sedentary  ieing, 
although  he  is  fast  becoming  such.  The 
child   can  learn  while  standing,   or  even 


ADVANTAGES  23 

while  moving  about.  It  is  possible  to 
conceive  of  a  school  where  there  are  no 
desks  and  seats  constructed  solely  for  writ- 
ing and  sitting,  but  where  each  corner  con- 
tains a  departmental  laboratory  to  which 
children  can  go  naturally,  and  move,  and 
grow,  and  "learn  by  doing"  the  riches  of 
each  department  as  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
acquire  facts  and  skill. 

5.  Enrichment  of  Curriculum. 

It  is  obvious  that  one  of  the  best  means 
of  enriching  the  elementary  course  is  by 
broadening  and  intensifying  each  branch 
through  expert  teaching. 

A  second  means  of  enrichment  is  by  pre- 
serving   a    proper    distribution    of    time. 

There  is  a  constant  tendency  in  the  single- 
teacher  method  to  give  much  more  time 
and  energy  to  one  subject  than  to  another. 
In  fact  some  branches  have  been  notoriously 
slighted.  No  matter  what  the  programme 
calls  for,  the  study  the  teacher  likes  best, 


24  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

the  one  in  which  he  is  best  prepared,  the 
one  to  which  his  pupils  give  best  attention, 
or  the  one  the  principal  magnifies,  is  the 
study  that  receives  the  maximum  amount 
of  work.  But,  it  is  fair  to  assume,  that,  if 
a  subject  is  worth  putting  in  the  curriculum, 
it  should  receive  its  proportionate  time. 
The  departmental  plan  insures  this  proper 
distribution. 

A  third  means  of  enrichment  has  been 
suggested  above.  A  new  subject  may  be 
added  to  the  course  and  an  expert  teacher 
may  be  developed  to  teach  its  elements. 
Or,  again,  a  subject  that  has  received  little 
or  no  attention  in  certain  classes,  due  per- 
haps to  the  need  of  a  peculiar  talent  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  or  teachers,  may  become 
as  well  taught  as  any  study  in  the  curri- 
culum. 

For  example,  a  teacher  who  teaches  all 
the  subjects  of  a  grade  may  do  well  in  all 
except  one,  as  music.  In  this  work  the 
class  may  utterly  fail.     Under  the  depart- 


ADVANTAGES  25 

mental  plan,  the  class  could  have  passed  to 
an  expert  teacher. 

Suppose,  again,  that  It  is  desirable  to  in- 
troduce a  new  subject,  as  cooking,  into  the 
course  of  any  school.  Under  the  single- 
teacher  plan,  its  practical  teaching  v^ould 
be  hindered.  Under  the  departmental 
plan,  a  teacher  could  be  assigned  to  this 
branch  who  would  soon  become  an  expert. 
As  the  teaching  of  each  study  must  be  en- 
riched by  the  departmental  plan,  so  the 
curriculum  as  a  whole  will  increase  in 
value. 

6.   Unity  and  Force  in  School  Management 

Certain  important  gains  in  school  man- 
agement are  afforded  by  departmental 
teaching. 

a.  There  may  be  greater  unity  of  work. 
When  an  entirely  new  class  begins  work 
with  a  strange  teacher  there  is  bound 
to  be  a  more  or  less  extended  period  of 
groping  about  for  a  true  beginning.     Re- 


26  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

views  and  repetitions  are  manifold.  The 
new  teacher  knows  nominally  where  the 
former  teacher  left  ofif,  but  results  do  not 
tally.  Now,  under  the  departmental  plan, 
a  teacher  teaches  the  same  pupils  for  years. 
He  can,  therefore,  lay  out  the  entire  work 
as  a  complete  whole. 

b.  Responsibility  for  results  in  any  study 
may  be  more  directly  fixed.  Although 
the  single  teacher  of  a  grade  has  been 
nominally  held  responsible  for  the  work  of 
that  grade,  yet  he  has  successfully  evaded, 
and  properly  too,  a  large  part  of  that 
responsibility.  If,  for  example,  the  prin- 
cipal criticised  the  work  of  a  class  in 
composition,  the  teacher  would  exhibit  his 
class  compositions,  showing  most  conclu- 
sively, (a)  how  very  defective  the  class 
was  in  that  work  at  the  beginning  of  the 
term,  and  (b)  how  remarkably  the  class 
had  improved  during  the  same  term. 
Each  former  teacher  of  this  class  would 
repeat  more  or  less  the  same  set  of  proofs. 


ADVANTAGES  27 

Every  supervisor  knovs^s  that  this  shirking 
of  responsibility  is  inherent  in  the  single- 
teacher  plan.  Under  the  departmental 
plan  the  composition  teacher  would  have 
no  one  to  place  the  responsibility  upon 
other  than  himself. 

c.  Economy  in  the  employment  of  teach- 
ers v^ill  be  gained.  In  most  large  cities 
a  number  of  special  teachers  has  been 
employed  to  teach  or  assist  in  the  teach- 
ing of  certain  subjects  knov^n  as  "special 
branches." 

This  practice  has  resulted  in  a  large  in- 
crease in  the  cost  of  running  the  schools, 
particularly  because  the  special  teacher  has 
no  particular  class  for  which  he  is  held 
responsible.  An  increase  in  the  number  of 
special  teachers  never  decreases  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  per  teacher.  While  the 
special  teacher  has  taught,  the  class  teacher 
has  not  been  profitably  engaged.  This  is 
an  unnecessary  duplication  of  service. 

Again,  the  character  of  the  work  of  this 


28  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

Special  teacher  has  often  been  very  faulty, 
due  to  the  fact  that  his  uncoordinated  rela- 
tion in  the  school  faculty  brought  about 
great  obstacles  in  class  rrianagement  and 
in  securing  a  proper  interest.  The  class 
teacher  can  always  use  more  effective  means 
to  secure  good  work  than  the  special  teacher. 
Under  the  departmental  plan,  the  pecu- 
liar organization  itself  tends  to  develop 
specialists  rapidly,  at  least  specialists  of 
sufficient  capability  for  elementary  work, 
and  thus  the  need  of  an  extra  specialist  is 
no  longer  felt. 

d.  The  saving  of  the  teacher's  time  in 
the  preparation  of  lessons,  the  saving  of  the 
time  for  needless  reviews,  and  the  economy 
in  the  use  of  school  equipment  have  all 
been  discussed  above. 

e.  Pupils  may  be  promoted  with  less 
friction.  Individual  promotion,  or  pro- 
motion at  other  than  the  usual  times,  has 
been  one  of  the  rarest  occurrences  of  the 
graded  school.     The  brighter  the  pupil  the 


ADVANTAGES 


29 


more  the  grade  teacher  desires  to  keep 
him.  In  recommending  his  promotion  the 
teacher  has  everything  to  lose  and  nothing 
to  gain;  but,  under  the  departmental 
plan,  no  such  influence  need  w^ork  against 
a  child,  for  as  soon  as  the  required  pro- 
ficience  is  reached  every  one  of  his  teachers 
is  interested  in  his  advancement.  Another 
phase  of  this  problem  of  promotion  gives 
promise  of  great  benefit.  Promotion  by  sub- 
ject is  being  adopted  in  many  high  schools 
of  the  country,  and  there  is  no  reason  w^hy 
a  modification  of  the  system  may  not  be 
worked  out  for  the  elementary  school.  It 
has  its  peculiar  difficulties  with  young 
children,  but  the  principle  of  differentia- 
ting the  individual  child  and  his  work  is 
the  foundation  stone  of  all  progress  in  the 
grammar  grades. 


30  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

7.  Other  Considerations 
The  various  reports  that  have  been  made, 
and  the  discussions  that  have  been  held  on 
the  subject  of  departmental  teaching  have 
emphasized  some  other  phases  of  this  ques- 
tion which  are  worthy  of  mention.  Most 
of  these  claims  are  really  manifestations  of 
the  gains  already  discussed,  but,  in  a  new 
form,  they  are  significant. 

a.  Departmental  teaching  in  the  ele- 
mentary school  will  bring  about  a  much 
better   articulation  with   the   high   school. 

.  This  is  not  so  striking  a  gain  to  the  pupils 
of  the  grammar  school  as  a  whole  as  the 
more  fundamental  arguments  which  have 
been  advanced,  but  it  is,  when  the  school 
system  is  considered  as  a  whole,  unques- 
tionably a  very  important  advantage. 

b.  Interest  in  school  work  will  probably 
be  greatly  intensified  by  departmental 
teaching.  While  this  may  not  always  fol- 
low, as  interest  is  a  result  of  the  will,  still 
the  natural  means  afforded  tend  to  produce 


ADVANTAGES  3 1 

a  proper  condition  for  greater  interest.  The 
variety  of  teachers,  equipment,  methods, 
and  general  conditions,  the  physical  relief 
in  changing  rooms,  the  continuity  of  supe- 
rior teaching,  the  greater  educative  free- 
dom, all  serve  to  stimulate  the  child  to  his 
best  endeavor.  Nothing  is  more  deaden- 
ing to  a  child  than  to  listen  to  the  same 
voice,  see  the  same  surroundings,  witness 
the  same  methods,  and  all  within  the  nar- 
row confines  of  a  single  room,  and  under 
the  eye  of  the  same  teacher.  Children 
become  weary  from  the  eternal  sameness. 

c.  Departmental    teaching   is    more    at- 
tractive to  teachers.     This  is  shown  by  the  ^ 
tendency  to  prepare  in  a  specialty  in  normal 
and  training  schools. 

d.  There  is  great  difficulty  in  properly 
preparing  teachers  in  the  many  studies  of 
the  elementary  schools.  If  teachers  could 
be  prepared  in  a  group  of  studies  only, 
there  would  be  a  greater  number  of  efficient 
teachers. 


32  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

e.  In  schools  for  boys  and  in  schools  for 
boys  and  girls  where  both  men  and  women 
are  teaching,  the  control  of  both  sexes  may 
be  exercised  upon  boys  and  girls  alike. 
This  will  mitigate  to  some  extent  the  undue 
influence  of  either  sex. 

f.  Recreation  may  be  provided  for  the 
children  of  large  cities  who  have  been  de- 
prived of  a  recess  at  10:30  A.  M.  It  has 
been  found  quite  impracticable  in  most 
large  schools  to  conduct  a  recess  at  that 
time.  The  departmental  plan  may  give 
brief  recreative  periods  at  short  intervals. 

g.  The  special  talent  of  a  child  is  likely 
to  be  developed.  The  greater  stimulation 
of  the  work  in  a  given  department  may  set 
free  a  force  which  will  lead  to  the  selection 
of  a  proper  vocation  by  many  children. 

h.  Children  become  more  responsible 
for  their  actions  and  hence  increase  more 
rapidly  in  initiative  and  independent 
thought.  This  result,  however,  depends 
largely  upon  the  manner  of  adaptation,  but 


ADVANTAGES  33 

the  Strong  tendency  of  the  system  is  to  de- 
velop these  most  desirable  qualities  in 
children. 

i.  Again,  children  are  developed  as 
individuals.  The  departmental  plan  tends 
to  differentiate  each  child  and  his  work. 
He  is,  therefore,  stimulated  to  much  greater 
effort.  If  he  can  be  promoted  as  soon  as 
he  is  prepared  to  advance  to  a  higher  grade, 
certainly  no  better  condition  for  him  than 
this  could  be  brought  about  in  the  school 
management. 

j.  Favoritism,  or  what  school  children 
have  for  generations,  called  "partiality" 
will  be  greatly  reduced.  Consciously  or 
unconsciously  many  teachers  acquire  the 
habit  of  making  favorites.  This  is  very 
harmful  in  a  class  with  but  one  teacher,  but 
where  pupils  go  from  teacher  to  teacher 
any  evil  tendency  of  this  kind  will  surely  be 
so  diffused  as  to  become  much  weakened. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OBJECTIONS 

Many  objections  have  been  made  to  de- 
partmental teaching,  some  from  a  failure 
to  apply  it  effectively,  and  some  from  a 
failure  to  distinguish  it  from  other  new 
methods  in  elementary  schools  v^hich  may 
have  resembled  the  departmental  plan. 

Some  prominent  educators  have  raised 
objections  to  the  departments  in  elementary 
schools,  seemingly  from  the  fact  that  they 
confounded  it  with  the  special  teacher 
system. 

They  have  attributed  the  well-known 
short-comings  of  that  system  to  the  de- 
partmental. 

The  special  teacher  has  largely  failed, 
not  because  of  any  weakness  in  teaching 
ability,  but  because  he  was  unable  to  es- 
tablish any  proper  personal  relation  to  his 

34 


OBJECTIONS  35 

pupils,  and  because  he  had  no  cooperative 
relation  as  a  member  of  a  particular  school 
faculty.  He  has  not  failed  because  he  was 
a  specialist.  Any  approved  method  of 
departmental  teaching  should  employ  all 
the  functions  of  a  teacher,  and  then  there 
will  be  no  similarity  between  the  special 
teacher  system  and  the  departmental. 

There  are,  moreover,  a  few  difficulties 
that  are  inherent  in  the  departmental  plan. 
These  should  be  studied  and  overcome,  or 
the  resulting  friction  will  hinder  the  free 
movement  of  the  system. 

The  principal  objections  to  departmental 
teaching  are  that  the  plan  tends  to  promote 
overwork,  weak  correlation,  narrowmind- 
edness  of  teachers,  difficulties  in  school  man- 
agement, and  lack  of  personal  control  of 
pupils  on  the  part  of  teachers.  The 
remedy  is  found  in  an  effective  method  of 
adaptation. 


36  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

I.   Too  much  work  may  be  demanded  of 
pupils. 

Certainly  the  tendency  is  marked,  upon 
the  introduction  of  the  departmental  plan, 
for  each  teacher  to  magnify  the  value  of  his 
subject.  Each  teacher  is  brought  into 
competition  with  every  other  teacher  in 
order  to  secure  the  interest  and  effort  of 
each  child.  But  it  should  be  clearly  under- 
stood at  the  outset  that  the  tendency  to 
overwork  is  great  under  the  single-teacher 
plan.  The  point  of  this  criticism  is  that 
the  tendency  to  overwork  pupils  is  greater 
and  more  difficult  to  control  under  the  de- 
partments. 

These  means  of  control  of  school  work 
are  offered : 

a.  Regular  conferences  of  principal  and 
teachers  should  be  held,  at  which  a  system 
may  be  perfected  for  the  proper  distribu- 
tion and  regulation  of  all  home  and  school 
work. 


OBJECTIONS  37 

b.  All  home  work,  as  a  school  require- 
ment, may  be  abandoned.  Many  educa- 
tors have  long  realized  that  a  period  of  five 
hours  a  day,  for  ten  months  in  the  year, 
comprises  all  the  work  that  ought  to  be  de- 
manded of  the  young  children  of  the  ele- 
mentary school. 

c.  Home  work  might  be  made  voluntary. 
An  adoption  of  any  of  the  above  recom- 
mendations would,  in  practice,  break  the 
entire  force  of  the  objection. 

2.  Correlation  will  be  made  more  dif- 
ficult. 

This  theme  has  offered  wide  opportuni- 
ties for  the  opponents  of  departmental 
teaching. 

The  six  principal  phases  of  correlation 
are  therefore  herein  examined  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  all  the  difficulties  in- 
volved. 

a.  Proper  sequence  of  studies  and  parts 
of   studies.     This    kind    of   correlation    is 


38  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

positively  facilitated  by  departmental  in- 
struction as  shown  above  under  "unity  of 
w^ork." 

b.  Coordination.  The  equalizing  and 
harmonizing  of  studies  in  point  of  time  and 
valuation  is  greatly  helped  by  departmental 
instruction  as  shown  above. 

c.  Correlating  subjects  with  the  faculties 
of  the  mind,  as  well  as 

d.  Correlating  subjects  with  the  entire 
human  environment  of  the  child,  are  corre- 
lations which  are  evidently  secured  as  well 
or  better  by  the  departmental  plan  as  by  the 
single-teacher  plan. 

e.  Unity  of  studies.  Colonel  Francis 
W.  Parker  based  his  case  against  depart- 
mental teaching  chiefly  upon  his  belief  that 
it  would  hinder  the  proper  unity  of  studies. 
His  theory  of  unity  demands,  primarily,  a 
teaching  of  content  studies  only,  while  the 
studies  of  form  or  means  of  expression  are 
taught  incidentally. 

First,  Colonel  Parker  and  his  followers 


OBJECTIONS  39 

seem  to  have  confounded  the  special-teacher 
system,  which  is  practiced  in  most  large 
cities,  with  departmental  education.  These 
are  not  to  be  confounded,  hence  many  of 
their  illustrations  are  not  applicable. 

Second,  the  unity  of  content  and  form, 
along  the  lines  suggested  by  Colonel  Parker 
and  others,  is  a  valuable  thought  in  educa- 
tion, but  the  educational  public  has  not 
accepted  to  any  degree  the  extreme  views 
of  Colonel  Parker.  Therefore,  he  would 
make  departmental  teaching  antagonize  a 
theory  rather  than  a  condition. 

Third,  departmental  instruction  in  no 
sense  hinders  the  unity  of  content  and  form 
to  the  degree  Colonel  Parker  maintained. 
The  departments  may  be  all  content  sub- 
jects, and  each  department,  as  history,  may 
be  held  responsible  for  the  spelling,  pen- 
manship, etc.,  involved  in  its  teaching.  In 
this  way  unity  may  be  actually  enhanced. 

f.  Cross-correlation  or  interrelations  be- 
tween studies.     This  phase  of  correlation  is 


40  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

the  one  most  commonly  accepted  as  corre- 
lation by  teachers.  For  instance,  the 
science  work  should  not  involve  division 
of  fractions  before  this  topic  has  been 
taught  in  arithmetic.  This  is  a  matter  that 
will  not  take  care  of  itself,  and  will  prove 
very  harmful  to  the  smooth  working  of  a 
departmental  plan,  if  not  adjusted.  It  is, 
however,  easy  to  regulate. 

First,  a  well-developed  course  of  study 
will  take  care  of  all  direct  correlations. 

Second,  all  other  correlations  of  any 
value  may  be  adjusted  at  the  conference 
above  recommended. 

Third,  many  magnify,  beyond  all  reason, 
the  importance  of  this  kind  of  correlation. 
There  are,  of  course,  natural  and  direct 
correlations  as  named  above,  but  many  of 
the  "wild-cat  schemes"  that  have  been  put 
forward  in  recent  years  are  not  worth  con- 
sideration. The  child  will  naturally  unify 
all  the  knowledge  that  he  apperceives. 
Let  him  alone.     He  is  a  positive  unifying 


OBJECTIONS  41 

organism.  Many  plans  of  correlation  re- 
mind one  of  chewing  the  food  for  a  child. 
Give  him  his  dinner  without  depriving  him 
of  the  privilege  of  its  mastication.  He  is 
actually  educated  by  unifying  all  these  so- 
called  "scrappy"  and  isolated  facts  of  hu- 
man knowledge. 

3.   Teachers  may  become  narrow  minded. 

Those  who  have  made  much  of  this  point 
seem  to  have  forgotten  that  the  employ- 
ment of  a  single  teacher  for  a  grade  is  a 
positive  form  of  specialization.  The  grade 
teacher  is  confined  to  a  short  cross-section 
of  the  course,  while  the  departmental 
teacher  is  confined  to  a  longitudinal  section. 
So,  even  from  this  view,  the  departmental 
teacher  does  not  suffer. 

But  the  narrowing  tendency  does  exist 
among  all  teachers,  and  it  is  quite  probable 
that  the  departmental  system  does  not  tend 
to  minimize  some  very  objectionable  phases 
of  this  influence. 


42  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

In  a  recent  article  Dr.  Julius  Sachs,  of 
Columbia  University,  calls  attention  to  a 
harmful  condition  of  over-specialization 
which  has  arisen  in  the  high  school.  His 
position  is  so  sound  and  applies  so  directly 
to  conditions  that  exist  or  conditions  which 
must  be  guarded  against  in  the  elementary 
school  that  his  words  are  here  used  at  some 
length. 

"The  pure  departmentalist  is  a  distinct  hindrance 
to  the  construction  of  a  rational  curriculum.  He  is 
apt  to  refuse  to  teach  anything  but  his  own  subject,  in 
which  case  he  adds  materially  to  the  costliness  of  the 
school  system,  or  else  he  will  assent,  by  way  of  half- 
hearted accommodation,  to  teach  as  matters  of  sec- 
ondary importance  to  him  those  subjects  that  should 
command  the  very  fullest  powers  and  abilities  of  the 
class  teacher." 

And  again  he  writes : 

"I  hope  I  have  made  it  clear  that  departmental 
organization  is  as  far  removed  as  possible  from  spe- 
cialization in  one  subject." 

And  still  further: 

"The  remedy  for  the  all-around  teacher  of  the  old 


OBJECTIONS  43 

academy  days  is  not  to  be  found,  then,  in  the  one- 
subject  teacher,  but  in  the  teacher  who  has  definitely 
prepared  himself  to  meet  the  requirements  of  at  least 
three  subjects  of  the  curriculum." 

Over-Specialization  may  become  just  as 
damaging  to  a  school  organization  as  un- 
der-specialization.  In  rushing  from  the 
teacher  who  carries  a  dilute  mixture  of 
anything  you  may  need,  we  should  not  em- 
brace the  teacher  who  offers  the  poignancy 
of  some  concentrated  extract.  The  broad- 
minded  teacher  must  be  retained  alike  in 
college,  high  school,  and  elementary  school. 

The  plan  proposed  in  a  later  chapter  of 
this  work  contemplates  securing  for  the 
schools  not  only  the  teacher  who  can  teach 
a  department  of  related  studies  better  than 
any  one  else,  but  also  the  teacher  who  is 
open-minded  and  has  broad  sympathies  for 
all  attainments  of  human  achievement. 

Holding  ever  to  this  breadth  of  view 
there  is  still  another  phase  of  specialization 
of  vocation. 


44  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

We  all  agree  that  division  of  labor  pro- 
motes efficiency.  Again,  division  of  labor 
has  everywhere  been  characteristic  of  prog- 
ress in  civilization.  But,  if  specializa- 
tion produces  narrowness,  then  civilization 
and  narrowness  must  be  concomitant — a 
thesis  which  is  so  paradoxical  as  to  admit 
of  no  defense.  The  narrowest  people  are 
those  who  can  do  fairly  well  a  thousand 
things. 

It  is  probable  that  men  are  not  made 
narrow  by  the  limits  of  their  occupations, 
but  by  the  narrowness  of  their  outlook  upon 
life. 

4.  School  organization  may  become  more 
difficult. 

This  difficulty  is  not  inherent  in  depart- 
mental teaching.  It  is  necessarily  greater 
upon  the  introduction  of  any  new  method. 
Should  the  high  schools  introduce  the  sin- 
gle-teacher plan  for  each  grade,  it  would 
offer  many  difficulties  to  those  accustomed 
to  the  departmental  plan. 


OBJECTIONS  45 

The  work  of  organization  and  its  con- 
duct depend  largely  upon  the  plan  adopted. 
Many  have  used  an  over-departmentalized 
method  which  is  burdensome  as  well  as  in- 
effective. Drawing  conclusions  from  such 
usage,  some  writers  on  this  subject  have  laid 
great  stress  on  the  necessity  of  a  competent 
principal.  A  competent  principal  is  neces- 
sary for  the  management  of  any  large 
school,  but  where  the  traditions  of  a  good 
departmental  plan  are  well  established,  no 
greater  executive  ability  is  needed  for  the 
direction  of  a  departmental  organization 
than  for  any  other.  In  fact,  if  the  great  ad- 
vantages of  improved  teaching,  discipline, 
equipment,  interest,  and  physical  relief 
mean  anything  at  all,  they  must  mean  that, 
when  the  plan  is  once  under  way,  the  very 
impetus  of  these  gains  must  actually  lessen 
the  burden  of  school  management. 


46 


DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 


5.  Personal  influence  and  general  re- 
sponsibility of  the  teacher  may  be  lessened. 

That  the  personal  influence  for  good  ex- 
erted by  teachers  upon  children  is  a  very- 
potent  agency  in  education,  is  a  fundamen- 
tal thesis  in  pedagogy;  but  the  depart- 
mental plan,  if  properly  adapted,  will 
strengthen  rather  than  weaken  this  valuable 
personal  influence. 

First.  The  influence  of  the  departmental 
teacher  is  continuous,  extending  over  the 
entire  course  of  the  child,  while  the  single 
teacher  controls  the  child  for  a  brief  period 
only,  at  the  end  of  which  his  influence  is 
entirely  ruptured. 

Second.  The  varying  personal  influences 
exerted  by  several  teachers  are  more  like 
the  influences  of  life,  and  afford  richer  va- 
rieties of  character  manifestation. 

Third.  Under  the  single-teacher  plan, 
many  children  are  not  reached  by  a  proper 
personal  attraction.    The  teacher's  person- 


OBJECTIONS  47 

ality  may,  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  posi- 
tively repel  some  children  who  are  thus 
placed  beyond  his  influence;  but,  in  pass- 
ing through  the  departments,  each  pupil  is 
more  apt  to  meet  the  peculiar  quality  in  a 
teacher  which  is  fitted  to  awaken  what  is 
best  in  him. 

Fourth.  Thus  the  rare  and  more  in- 
timate personal  relations,  which  often 
prevail  for  good,  are  more  common  un- 
der a  departmental  system  than  under  any 
other. 

6.  Other  objections  that  have  been  raised. 

Many  other  objections  to  departmental 
teaching  have  been  made,  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  a  failure  to  properly  adapt  the 
system  to  elementary  school  conditions. 
These  objections  are,  for  the  most  part,  dis- 
cussed in  other  portions  of  this  work  where 
the  topic  has  been  specially  developed.  It 
has  been  claimed  that  discipline  will  be- 
come lax,  that  penmanship  and  spelling  will 


48  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

become  poor,  that  English  generally  will 
suffer,  that  responsibility  will  not  be  defi- 
nitely fixed,  that  there  will  be  no  time  for 
study,  and  that  class  spirit  will  not  be  de- 
veloped. There  is  no  good  reason  why  each 
and  all  of  these  objections  will  not  disap- 
pear under  the  departmental  plan,  if 
the  suggestions  made  in  the  succeeding 
chapters  are  carried  out.  The  proposed 
plan  has  been  perfected  in  order  to  over- 
come the  possibility  of  any  such  harmful 
tendencies. 

Again,  it  has  been  held  that  the  "harder 
studies"  cannot  always  be  placed  in  the 
morning  hours  as  under  the  single-teacher 
plan.  This  is  true,  but  the  constant  physical 
relief  and  variety  provided  by  a  depart- 
mental programme  doubtless  mitigates  the 
force  of  this  objection. 

There  is  another  class  of  objections, 
which  have  been  made,  which  present  only 
the  common  difliculties  of  any  system  of 
school  organization. 


OBJECTIONS  49 

It  has  been  stated  that  incompetent 
teachers,  new  teachers,  and  teachers  given 
to  irregular  or  unpunctual  attendance  cause 
trouble.  This  is  true,  but  such  teachers 
are  the  cause  of  trouble  under  any  system 
or  in  any  school.  If  the  case  of  the  incom- 
petent teacher  is  taken  it  might  be  stated 
in  the  following  question;  Which  is  the 
better  plan,  to  place  a  pupil  for  one  year 
or  one-half  year  entirely  under  the  control 
of  an  inefficient  teacher,  or  to  place  him  un- 
der such  a  teacher  for  one  period  of  each 
day?  When  distributed  over  a  period  of 
years,  it  will  be  found  that  each  pupil's  lost 
time  is  the  same  under  either  plan,  but  most 
teachers  will  agree  that  it  is  far  better  to 
have  these  weak  periods  scattered  rather 
than  concentrated  upon  the  entire  class  dur- 
ing a  whole  year. 

In  this  way  the  weakening  influence 
seems  to  be  diluted.  Was  this  not  the  case 
in  your  high  school  and  college  course? 
The  fact  is  there  can  be  but  few  inefficient 


50  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

teachers  in  the  departments,  because  the 
chief  advantage  of  the  system  itself  is  that 
it  tends  to  develop  its  own  expert  teachers. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  ADAPTATION 

A  few  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
school  organization  are  presented  here  for 
discussion  and  amplification  in  an  attempt 
to  present  a  pedagogical  basis  for  an  ideal 
plan  of  adapting  departmental  teaching  to 
elementary  schools. 

The  chief  functions  of  the  teacher  must 
surely  find  proper  expression  in  any  effect- 
ive plan  of  school  or  class  organization. 
The  chief  developing  centers  of  the  child 
should  also  be  exercised  to  the  best  possible 
advantage  under  such  a  plan. 

I.  The  Prime  Functions  of  the  Teacher 

a.  Relation  to  the  pupil. 

The  most  important  function  of  a  teacher 

is  that  which  arises  from  the  necessity  of 

caring  for  the  individual  child.     This  duty 

is  best  fostered  when  each  teacher  is  largely 

51 


52  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

responsible  for  a  certain  group  or  class  of 
children. 

The  younger  the  child  the  more  this 
function  of  the  teacher  predominates.  The 
history  of  education  shows  that  this  prin- 
ciple has  always  been  observed,  as  our 
lowest  grades  have  uniformly  employed 
teachers  in  the  closest  personal  relations, 
while  our  institutions  of  higher  education 
have  always  shown  a  tendency  to  ignore 
entirely  the  personal  relation  to  the  student. 

A  notable  departure  has  just  been  intro- 
duced at  Princeton  University  in  the  pre- 
ceptorial system.  This  system  distinctly 
recognizes  the  value  of  emphasizing  the 
personal  care  and  responsibility  for  each 
and  every  pupil  on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 
Many  high  schools  have  long  appreciated 
the  force  of  this  function,  and  in  many  of 
these  schools,  each  class  of  students  has  been 
placed  under  the  personal  supervision  of  a 
certain  teacher. 

This  personal  touch  is  not  only  beneficial 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADAPTATION  53 

to  the  child  as  a  dependent  who  by  nature 
needs  constant  advice  and  direction,  but  it 
is  an  indispensable  condition  for  all  effect- 
ive teaching.  The  first  great  work  of  the 
teacher  is  to  gain  a  strong  personal  control 
over  his  pupil.  Many  teachers  have  failed 
because  this  relation  had  not  been  firmly 
established.  Likewise,  many  plans  of 
teaching  have  not  succeeded  for  the  reason 
that  these  plans  did  not  provide  for  the 
development  of  the  personal  relation. 

b.  Relation  to  the  branches  of  study. 

Primarily,  the  child  attends  school  for 
the  express  purpose  of  learning  something, 
and  therefore  the  teacher's  second  duty  is  to 
instruct  him  in  a  study  or  studies. 

The  best  instruction  is  sure  to  result  from 
particular  preparation  in  and  presentation 
of  one  subject.  Hence,  the  most  effective 
activity  of  this  function  is  in  the  selection 
of  a  special  branch  by  each  teacher. 

The  higher  institutions  of  learning,  of 
course,    have    developed   to    their   present 


54  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

efficiency  through  this  function  alone. 
Many  signs  indicate  that  it  has  been  per- 
fected at  the  expense  of  other  obligations. 

The  elementary  school,  however,  has 
always  ignored  this  function  until  in  recent 
years  it  has  been  forced  to  make  use  of  the 
special  teacher.  This  practice  simply 
proves  the  necessity  of  recognizing  that  one 
of  the  greatest  duties  of  any  teacher  is  to 
give  the  very  best  possible  instruction  in  the 
subject  matter  of  the  curriculum.  All  must 
agree  that  this  can  be  accomplished  only 
when  the  teacher  becomes  a  specialist  in 
teaching  a  given  subject. 

c.  Relation  to  the  school. 

Many  teachers  fail  to  recognize  the 
great  value  of  the  school  as  an  organized 
whole  instituted  for  the  benefit  of  the  child. 

The  tendency  is  to  ignore  this  relation  as 
much  as  possible  by  conceiving  of  each 
class  as  a  complete  whole.  In  many 
schools  teachers  do  not  know  how  to  wors 
together.     There    is   no   common    forum, 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADAPTATION  55 

but    rather    government    by    a    dictator. 

The  best  expression  of  this  relation  is  in 
a  thoroughly  organized  faculty.  The 
work  of  a  faculty,  as  such,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  functions  in  school  work. 
But  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  a 
constructive  cooperation  and  a  destructive 
dictation.  Appearances  are  many  times 
deceptive. 

The  unguarded  and  incapable  child  is 
placed  in  school.  Who  is  personally  and 
directly  responsible  for  him?  His  class 
teacher.  The  child  goes  to  school  to  learn 
something  of  value — to  study  branches  of 
knowledge.  Who  is  responsible  for  the 
teaching  of  these  studies?  His  depart- 
mental teacher.  The  child  is  individually 
a  part  of  the  school — a  social  whole. 
Who  is  responsible  for  the  school?  The 
faculty.  The  competent  teacher  is,  there- 
fore, one  who  can  control,  instruct,  and  co- 
operate. 


56  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

2.   The  Threefold  Nature  of  the  Child 

a.  The  intellectual  nature. 

Primarily,  the  school  gives  chief  con- 
sideration to  the  intellectual  development 
of  the  child.  The  best  educative  methods 
are  those  which  best  facilitate  the  mental 
act  of  learning.  Since  the  fundamental 
principle  in  mental  growth  is  spontaneous 
mental  action,  it  is  evident  that  the  school 
organization  should  consider  how  best  to 
bring  about  conditions  under  which  each 
child  is  given  the  responsibility  for  a  fitting 
amount  of  work,  together  with  the  most 
favorable  circumstance  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. The  child  must  in  his  turn  become 
the  worker,  and  all  methods  should  posi- 
tively foster  this  independence  of  thought 
and  action. 

b.  The  moral  nature. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  moral 
nature  of  the  child  is  best  developed  when 
he  habitually  wills  to  do  his  best.    The 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADAPTATION  57 

first  and  greatest  problem  of  the  school  is 
to  interest  him  in  right  action.  Right 
action  will  be  stimulated  and  will  follow 
most  naturally  those  conditions  in  school 
management  where  the  child  is  offered  the 
greatest  opportunity  for  freedom  of  choice. 
It  is  obvious  that  there  is  no  possibility  of 
adequately  educating  the  moral  nature 
unless  the  child  be  given  the  opportunity 
to  do  wrong  as  well  as  to  do  right. 

This  principle  of  freedom  has  been  so 
abundantly  tested  in  American  civilization 
that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  why  it  is 
not  accepted  universally  in  the  schools. 
Of  course  its  application  in  the  ele- 
mentary school  must  be  limited  in  com- 
parison with  the  degree  in  which  it  is 
applied  to  civilized  society.  The  school 
should  create  an  atmosphere  in  which  each 
and  every  child  shall  feel  that  he  is  being 
led  to  do  right  rather  than  wrong,  that  he  is 
held  responsible  for  the  just  discharge  of 
all  his  privileges,  that  high  ideals  of  attain- 


58  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

ment  are  ever  kept  before  him  and  within 
his  reach,  and  that  his  energies  find  full 
opportunity  for  self-control  as  well  as  for 
the  control  of  others  and  the  direction  of 
school  activities. 

There  are  two  requisites  in  school  or- 
ganization which  determine  the  extent  and 
force  of  moral  education.  The  teacher, 
his  character,  personality,  and  influence,  is 
the  first  determining  agency.  The  young 
child  looks  to  persons  in  authority  for 
ideals  of  conduct.  Their  right  activity  be- 
comes surely  the  right  activity  of  the 
learner,  and  the  pupil  who  comes  under 
the  control  of  a  great  and  good  teacher  is 
always  influenced  for  good. 

The  second  agency  is  the  method  of 
school  organization.  That  method  is  al- 
ways best  which  allows  the  greater  liberty. 
Of  course,  this  liberty  should  never  become 
absolute  license,  nor  should  it  approach 
immoderation. 

As  liberty  of  action  is  granted  to  adults 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ADAPTATION  59 

only  in  a  limited  degree,  so  it  should  be 
granted  to  children  in  a  less  degree,  but  it  is 
important  to  see  that  no  method  fosters 
moral  development  except  that  which 
recognizes  free  will. 

c.  The  physical  nature. 

It  is  almost  trite  to  say  that  these  three 
natures  of  the  child  are  a  unity,  and  always 
develop  together.  The  main  fact  is  that 
no  one  of  these  natures  can  far  outstrip 
another  without  all  failing  to  attain  their 
proper  growth.     Each  supports  the  others. 

Somehow,  as  Herbert  Spencer  long  ago 
pointed  out,  the  school  has  failed  to  give 
proper  attention  to  the  physical  develop- 
ment of  children.  And  further,  as  he  also 
pointed  out,  what  the  school  has  provided 
by  way  of  gymnastics  has  been  just  a  little 
better  than  nothing. 

The  essential  fact  to  realize  is,  that  the 
school  organization — the  school  program 
— should  in  its  execution  automatically 
bring  about  the  needed  physical  education 


6o  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

while  it  works  out  the  mental  and  moral 
education.  Living  itself  provides  physical 
activity  for  adults. 

The  carpenter  needs  no  special  gymnas- 
tic exercises.  The  man  who  works  in  an 
office  has  long  since  abandoned  his  dumb- 
bells and  has  taken  to  all  kinds  of  athletic 
sports,  both  outdoor  and  indoor,  not  be- 
cause they  necessitate  physical  exercise,  but 
because  they  supply  the  best  amusement 
and  recreation,  the  delight  in  which  is  the 
common  heritage  of  all  mankind.  So  the 
school  should  furnish  a  natural  physical 
relief  and  activity  for  the  child,  and  that 
system  of  school  organization  which  facili- 
tates the  frequent  physical  relief  and  exer- 
cise of  the  child  is  best. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PLAN   OF  ADAPTATION 
COMMON    SUBJECT   PLAN 

The  discussion  of  the  advantages  of  and 
objections  to  departmental  teaching  which 
has  been  presented  above  is  predicated 
largely  upon  a  use  of  the  following  plan 
of  adaptation.  This  plan  is  not  only  the 
outgrowth  of  personal  experience,  but  it  is 
also  deduced  from  the  considerations 
brought  forward  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
I.  Personal  Control  of  Children 

Pupils  should  be  grouped  into  classes 
and  grades  largely  as  under  the  graded, 
single-teacher  system.  Each  teacher  should 
be  assigned  to  a  class  as  its  "class  teacher" 
or  preceptor,  and  should  be  held  responsi- 
ble for  the  personal  welfare  of  each  and 
every  child  in  his  class.  He  should  also 
be  held  directly  responsible  for  all  matters 
in  school  organization  relating  to  his  class 

6i 


62  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

which  do  not  properly  fall  under  the  con- 
trol of  some  departmental  teacher.  And, 
above  all,  he  should  be  the  teacher  who 
exerts  the  strongest  personal  influence  for 
good  over  each  and  every  member  of  his 
class. 

2.  Presentation  of  Studies 

2l.  a  common  study — English.  Each 
teacher  should  be  a  class  teacher,  and  as 
such  should  have  sufficient  opportunity  al- 
lotted to  him  to  establish  a  potent  influence 
for  good  and  sufficient  time  to  perform  the 
many  class  duties  involved  in  the  school 
organization.  These  duties  are  many,  and 
comprehend  such  as  recording  the  attend- 
ance and  supervising  the  entrance  and  exit 
of  pupils. 

The  most  economical  way  to  give  this 
time  is  to  have  each  teacher  teach  his  own 
class  in  a  certain  subject  taught  in  common 
by  all  teachers. 

This  subject  should  be  English  or  one  or 
more  of  its  subdivisions.     The   reason  is 


PLAN   OF  ADAPTATION  63 

apparent:  English  is  a  peculiar  study  in 
the  elementary  school  in  that  it  is  funda- 
mentally common  to  all  other  studies. 
Teaching  cannot  be  performed  in  any  study 
without  the  constant  use  of  oral  and  written 
English;  therefore,  the  forms  of  pen- 
manship, spelling,  capitalization,  punctua- 
tion, and  grammatical  usage  must  be  ever 
under  the  responsible  examination  of  each 
and  every  teacher  or  else  great  waste  will 
result. 

The  child  should  feel  that  it  Is  just  as 
necessary  to  write  well  and  to  spell  correctly 
under  his  history  teacher  as  under  his  Eng- 
lish teacher.  If  the  responsibility  for  the 
attainment  of  proper  English  usage  on  the 
part  of  both  teacher  and  pupil  is  not  placed 
alike  upon  each  teacher  in  an  elementary 
school,  pupils  will  habituate  themselves  to 
writing  well,  when  under  the  penmanship 
teacher,  and  scribbling  in  all  the  other  de- 
partments. 

Many  have  held  that  the  importance  of 


64  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

English  is  such  that  it  should  be  special- 
ized. The  importance  of  English  as  a 
branch  in  the  elementary  school  doubtless 
transcends  the  value  of  any  other  branch, 
and  that  reason  alone  may  indicate  why  no 
elementary  teacher  can  afford  to  be  any- 
thing else  than  an  elementary  specialist  in 
English. 

But,  English  is  also  peculiar  in  being  the 
one  common  branch.  It  is  distinct  and 
separate  on  account  of  these  qualities  from 
all  other  branches.  No  teacher  can  teach 
a  single  lesson  in  any  study  without  using 
it  constantly,  and  for  this  very  necessity  he 
is  perforce  an  English  teacher  whether  he 
wills  or  not.  Every  child  that  sees  or  hears 
his  English  expression  is  imbibing  his 
strongest  ideals  and  habits  of  English 
usage.  From  this,  it  will  be  seen,  that  it  is 
positive  economy  in  the  grammar  school  to 
require  at  least  an  elementary  specializa- 
tion of  the  English  branches  on  the  part  of 
every  teacher. 


PLAN   OF  ADAPTATION  65 

It  must  not  be  concluded  from  this,  how- 
ever, that  certain  English  branches,  as 
grammar  or  penmanship,  may  not,  at 
times,  be  profitably  departmentalized. 
The  gain  of  this  suggestion  will  depend 
upon  the  peculiar  conditions  that  exist  in  a 
given  school.  As  a  rule,  all,  or  a  part  of  the 
English  branches,  should  be  taught  as  a 
common  study  in  all  elementary  schools. 

b.  Departmental  studies.  In  addition 
to  being  a  class  teacher  of  one  class,  each 
teacher  also  becomes  the  special  teacher  of 
a  certain  study  or  group  of  related  studies, 
which  is  known  as  a  department.  The 
studies  to  be  taught  by  a  teacher  might  be, 
for  example,  English  and  arithmetic.  He 
would  teach  only  his  own  class  or  grade  in 
the  English  branches,  but  he  would  teach 
arithmetic  to  all  the  classes  or  grades  in 
that  part  of  the  school  which  is  organized 
into  departments. 


66  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

3.  Faculty  Organization 

The  departmental  plan,  or  for  that  mat- 
ter any  plan,  will  not  work  successfully 
unless  there  is  a  properly  organized  faculty. 
Cooperation  is  greater  than  dictation. 
Where  the  martinet  principal  stalks  all  may 
appear  well,  but,  in  reality,  desolation 
abounds. 

The  school  spirit,  progress,  and  work  are 
all  promoted  by  a  faculty.  Any  school 
does  its  best  work  only  when  it  is  organized 
as  a  united  whole,  and  each  teacher  per- 
forms his  greatest  service  only  when  he 
realizes  the  great  value  of  entering  into  the 
work  of  the  entire  school  with  the  same  zest 
that  he  pursues  his  departmental  work. 

The  plan  proposed  above  presupposes 
regular  conferences  of  teachers  at  which 
various  local  school  questions  may  be  dis- 
cussed and  set  right. 

The  faculty  meetings  may  be  extended  to 
cover  a  wide  range  of  professional  en- 
deavor and  activity. 


PLAN   OF  ADAPTATION  67 

4.  Equipment  of  Departments 
The  equipment  of  departments  will  fol- 
low departmental  teaching  almost  as  a 
corollary.  But  this  feature  is  such  a  strik- 
ing advantage  of  departmental  teaching 
that  it  should  be  developed  as  a  necessary 
part  of  the  school  equipment  and  work. 
The  special  purpose  and  work  of  a  depart- 
ment should  control  the  selection  of  all 
furniture,  apparatus,  and  supplies  which  it 
uses. 

Hence  the  departmental  teacher  should 
be  permitted  to  choose  the  necessary  ma- 
terial and  equipment  for  his  department. 
It  is  quite  probable,  as  the  plan  of  depart- 
mental teaching  develops,  that  the  com- 
plete equipment  of  certain  departments,  as 
cooking,  shopwork,  and  science,  might  in- 
terfere with  the  use  of  the  room  as  an  ordi- 
nary classroom  for  the  study  of  English. 
When  such  a  development  takes  place  the 
room  should  be  made  large  enough  to  ac- 
commodate   both    the    full    departmental 


68 


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PLAN  OF  ADAPTATION  69 

equipment  and  the  desks  and  chairs  suitable 
for  English  work. 

5.  Movement  of  Classes 

The  movement  of  classes  from  one  de- 
partment to  another  is  essential  to  success. 
The  class  teacher  must  feel  that  after  he  has 
instructed  his  class  for  a  time  in  the  common 
subject,  he  can  best  serve  this  class  by  send- 
ing it  to  a  specially  equipped  department 
under  a  special  teacher,  while  he  in  turn 
gives  specialized  instruction  to  another 
class. 

6.  The  Introductory  Organization 

The  first  steps  taken  in  introducing  the 
departmental  plan  of  teaching  are  very  im- 
portant. These  suggestions  are  offered  for 
consideration : 

a.  Begin  with  the  highest  class  and 
unite  in  the  first  departmental  division  the 
five,  six,  or  seven  highest  classes.  Never 
take  less  than  three  nor  more  than  eight 
classes.    Five  is  probably  the  ideal  number. 

If  the  school  is  very  large,  having  twelve 


70  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

to  fifteen  classes  in  the  last  two  years,  two 
or  more  departmental  divisions  may  be 
formed,  as  it  were,  along  side  of  each  other. 
Or,  if  it  is  desired  to  organize  the  last  four 
years  of  the  course  departmentally,  one  de- 
partmental division  might  even  be  allowed 
to  follow  another,  but  this  should  not  be 
generally  permitted.  The  parallel  ar- 
rangement is  always  preferable  where  the 
conditions  are  the  same. 

It  is,  of  course,  desirable  to  include  all 
the  classes  of  any  given  year  in  a  depart- 
mental unit,  but  not  always  necessary. 
For  example,  if  in  a  certain  school  there 
are  nine  classes  in  the  last  two  years  it 
would  be  better  to  organize  departmentally 
the  highest  six  or  seven  classes  only  than  to 
comprehend  the  nine  classes  in  one  division. 
Or,  it  might  be  profitable  to  organize  two 
divisions,  one  division  taking  in  part  of  the 
sixth  year.  The  point  in  the  course  at 
which  a  division  should  end  is  not  so  im- 
portant as  other  considerations. 


PLAN  OF  ADAPTATION  71 

b.  The  selections  of  departments  by 
teachers  and  their  final  adjustment  and  as- 
signment is  a  matter  governed  largely  by 
individual  preferences,  aptitude,  previous 
education  and  experience,  and  general  con- 
ditions. After  some  compromises  have 
been  made,  the  principal  must  make  the 
final  assignments. 

The  following  table,  showing  possible 
arrangements  of  the  departments  under  a 
different  number  of  teachers,  is  submitted. 

Departmental  Divisions 

Four  Teachers 

Teacher  A — English,  Mathematics 
Teacher  B — English,  History,   Music 
Teacher  C — English,     Geography, 
Science 
Teacher  D — English,  Manual  Training 
Drawing  is  included  under  manual  train- 
ing. 

Physical  training  and  penmanship  would 


72  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

be    taught    as    common    branches    under 
English. 

Nature  study  and  hygiene  would  be 
taught  under  science;  civics  and  ethics 
under  history. 

Five  Teachers 

Teacher  A — English,  Mathematics 
Teacher  B — English,  History 
Teacher  C — English,  Geography 
Teacher  D — English,   Science,  Music 
Teacher  E — English,  Manual  Training 

Six  Teachers 

Teacher  A — English,  Mathematics 
Teacher  B — English,  History 
Teacher  C — English,  Geography 
Teacher  D — English,  Science 
Teacher  E — English,  Manual  Training 
Teacher  F — English,    Music,    Physical 
Training 

Seven  Teachers 
Teacher  A — English,  Mathematics 


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Teacher  B — English,  History 

Teacher  C — English,   Geography 

Teacher  D — English,  Science 

Teacher  E — English,  Manual  Training 

Teacher  F — English,   Music,   Grammar 

Teacher  G — English,  Physical  Train- 
ing, Composition 

c.  The  program  should  be  carefully  pre- 
pared so  that  no  conflicts  will  occur. 

An  appropriate  one  should  be  given  each 
teacher  and  pupil,  and  then  the  system 
should  be  ready  to  operate  successfully, 
provided  the  interior  organization  is  made 
to  conform  to  the  suggestions  of  the  fol- 
lowing chapter. 

The  more  pronounced  gains  secured  by 
the  above  plan  over  all  other  plans  of  de- 
partmental teaching  may  be  stated  as 
follows : 

I.  The  same  personal  control  of  children 
is  attained  as  under  the  single-teacher  plan. 
This  is  accomplished  by  assigning  each 
pupil  to  the  care  of  a  class  teacher,  and  by 


78  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

providing  ample  time  for  the  class  teacher 
to  establish  his  influence.  The  physical 
well-being  of  the  child  is  cared  for  through 
the  development  of  the  first  function  of  the 
teacher. 

2.  School  management  is  simplified. 
Whatever  advantages  follow  the  single- 
teacher  plan  are  preserved.  The  entrance 
and  exit  of  pupils,  the  disposal  of  clothing, 
the  keeping  of  class  records,  the  distribu- 
tion and  control  of  all  supplies,  can  all  be 
managed  directly  through  the  class  teacher. 
The  making  of  a  program  is  greatly  sim- 
plified. The  time  for  the  departments  is 
first  assigned,  then  the  remaining  time  is 
taken  by  each  class  teacher  for  English. 

3.  The  plan  is  easily  adaptable  to  all 
ordinary  school  conditions.  The  above 
plan  is  much  more  flexible  than  any  other. 
It  can  be  introduced  as  readily  in  a  small 
school  as  in  a  large  school. 

Even  in  a  small  school  where  there  are 
two  grades  to  each  teacher  it  can  be  em- 


PLAN   OF  ADAPTATION  79 

ployed  with  great  advantage.  The  method 
of  application  is  to  have  the  two  grades 
move  at  the  same  time,  and  in  each  depart- 
ment one  grade  recites  while  the  other 
studies  as  in  the  regular  classroom. 


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CHAPTER  VI. 
DETAILS  OF  ADAPTATION 

In  discussing  the  details  of  departmental 
teaching  the  writer  has  drawn  freely  upon 
the  results  of  four  questionnaires  which 
have  been  placed  at  his  disposal. 

One  was  conducted  by  Dr.  Edward  W. 
Stitt,  District  Superintendent  of  Districts 
8  and  12,  New  York,  in  1903;  two  were 
conducted  by  the  Board  of  Superintendents 
of  New  York  in  1903  and  1905,  and  an- 
other was  conducted  by  the  Schoolmen  of 
New  York  in  October,  1905. 

I.  Assignment  of  Studies 

The  principle  that  the  teacher  should 
select  his  own  specialty  should  prevail  as 
far  as  possible.  Compromises,  however, 
must  often  be  made. 


gi 


82  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

2.  Program 

The  time  before  and  after  all  recesses, 
entrances,  and  dismissals  should  be  given 
to  the  class  teacher.  This  secures  proper 
opportunity  for  the  recording  of  attend- 
ance, care  of  clothing  and  books,  and  is  the 
best  time  to  use  for  the  common  study. 
The  departmental  time  will  take  up  the 
middle  periods. 

This  arangement  may  be  graphically 
shown:  see  plate  VI. 

3.   Coordination  of  Departments 

It  is  very  important  that  the  special  work 
of  each  teacher  be  as  nearly  equal  to  that 
of  every  other  as  possible. 

Content  studies  may  be  placed  in  groups 
so  that  each  group  shall  embrace  related 
studies. 

It  will  be  found  very  difficult  to  equalize 
the  time  of  each  department  exactly  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements  of  most  courses 
of  study.     But,   the  best  courses  of  study 


DETAILS   OF  ADAPTATION  83 

leave  a  margin  of  "unassigned  time"  which 
assists  to  balance  the  periods  within  the  re- 
quirements. 

Exact  time  limits  are  immaterial  and 
should  never  be  insisted  upon  in  the  execu- 
tion of  a  school  program,  but  relative 
time  periods  are  important.  Each  study- 
should  be  given  its  proportionate  time. 
When  the  plan  of  proportionate  equaliza- 
tion of  departments  has  been  carried  out, 
it  will  be  found  to  facilitate  greatly  the 
making  of  a  program. 

4.  Length  of  Periods 

The  preferable  length  of  the  period  is 
forty  minutes.  However,  it  is  often  de- 
sirable to  have  some  periods,  as  manual 
training,  longer,  and  some,  as  music, 
shorter.  A  variation  of  five  or  ten  minutes 
in  the  length  of  a  period  to  suit  particular 
conditions  is  not  material. 

5.  Movement  of  Classes 

The  movement  of  classes  between  periods 


84  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

should  take  from  three  to  five  minutes. 
Some  speak  of  this  time  as  lost,  but  the 
great  necessity  of  physical  relief  ought  to 
convince  one  that  an  intermission  of  five 
minutes  between  periods  for  free  move- 
ment between  departments  is  both  possible 
and  profitable.  This  movement  between 
classrooms  may  be  used  as  a  brief  recreative 
recess,  and  in  modern  schools,  where  the 
halls  are  wide  enough,  it  will  be  found  pos- 
sible to  allow  some  free  play  during  this 
breathing  spell. 

On  account  of  the  varying  heights  of 
seats  and  desks,  children  should  be  asked  to 
form  lines  according  to  size,  /.  e.,  the  small- 
est pupil  first.  The  seating  of  most  class- 
rooms is  graduated  from  the  lowest  desks 
in  front  to  the  highest  desks  in  the  rear. 

Therefore,  if  a  class  always  comes  in  and 
goes  out  of  a  room  arranged  in  this  same  or- 
der, each  pupil  will  be  in  his  own  properly 
adjusted  seat  at  each  recitation. 

If  conditions  are  such  that  freer  move- 


DETAILS   OF  ADAPTATION  85 

ment  can  be  permitted,  each  pupil  may 
take  such  seat  in  each  room  as  has  been  as- 
signed him.  If  each  pupil  is  required  to 
sit  in  the  same  seat  at  every  appearance  in  a 
given  department  it  will  greatly  assist  in 
noting  attendance.  The  number  of  vacant 
seats  shows  the  number  of  absentees. 

In  schools  containing  boys  and  girls,  care 
should  be  taken  to  form  the  girls  in  lines 
separated  from  the  lines  of  the  boys.  The 
halls  are  usually  best  supervised  by  requir- 
ing each  teacher  to  stand  in  his  classroom 
door  during  change  of  classes. 

6.  Study 

Children  in  the  elementary  school  are  in 
great  need  of  a  proper  amount  of  time  for 
independent  preparation  of  lessons.  It  is 
important  to  see  that  five  hours  is  about  all 
the  time  that  a  child  should  be  held  to  his 
daily  school  work.  Therefore,  a  large 
part  of  this  time  should  be  given  for  inde- 
pendent study.     The  full  school  time  pre- 


86  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

scribed  for  a  subject  should  be  at  the 
disposal  of  the  departmental  teacher  so 
that  he  may  use  it  for  study  or  recitation. 
Therefore,  each  departmental  teacher 
should  control  all  the  time  assigned  to  his 
department.  The  time  for  study  is  what- 
ever time  the  teacher  may  think  best  to 
assign  for  such  an  exercise. 

The  "omnibus  study  period"  threatens  to 
work  great  harm  to  the  principle  of  school 
study,  and  is,  therefore,  not  recommended  as 
a  part  of  a  departmental  school  program. 

Every  study  period  should  be  set  apart 
for  preparation  in  a  certain  study  or  studies, 
and  the  work  done  during  this  period  must 
be  supervised  and  examined  by  the  teacher 
of  the  appropriate  department.  Every 
child  should  feel  that  he  must  render  as 
strict  an  account  of  the  use  of  his  time  dur- 
ing a  study  period  as  during  any  other 
period.  Study  to  be  done  at  home  should 
be  carefully  controlled  by  the  faculty  to  the 
end  that  overwork  may  not  take  place. 


DETAILS   OF   ADAPTATION  87 

7.  Discipline 

In  general,  the  teacher  who  is  in  imme- 
diate charge  of  a  class  should  be  responsible 
for  its  conduct.  The  responsibility  for  the 
discipline  between  periods  must  be  placed 
by  some  faculty  plan,  as  conditions  vary 
greatly. 

Acts  of  disorder  may  be  profitably  re- 
ported to  a  class  teacher  so  that  he  may 
support  the  departmental  teacher  by  means 
of  his  own  class  organization,  but  the 
teacher  in  immediate  charge  should  be 
primarily  responsible. 

8.  Attendance 

The  attendance  of  a  class  should  be  noted 
and  recorded  in  the  usual  way.  The  class 
teacher  should  be  held  responsible  for  the 
good  attendance  of  his  class  and  should  use 
all  proper  means  to  perfect  it.  The  at- 
tendance of  pupils  in  each  department  is 
easily  kept  by  the  class  president  or  secre- 
tary who  enters  the  record  in  a  book  which 


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90  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

should  be  signed  by  each  departmental 
teacher.  Any  pupil's  tardiness  or  absence 
from  the  room  may  be  recorded  in  the  same 
way.  Each  day  the  class  teacher  attends  to 
these  reports  and  other  such  reports  as  it 
may  be  found  best. 

9.  Correlation 

Correlation  is  a  proper  subject  for 
faculty  conference.  The  curriculum  will 
provide  for  most  correlations,  but  those 
correlations  which  can  be  taken  up  to  ad- 
vantage, as  points  of  contact  between  de- 
partments, are  easily  adjusted  as  the  work 
progresses. 

10.  Absent  Teachers 

Of  course  the  effectiveness  of  the  work 
left  by  the  absent  teacher  depends  entirely 
upon  the  ability  of  the  substitute  as  it  does 
under  any  system.  In  some  schools,  able 
teachers  from  lower  grades  have  acted  as 
"understudies",  so  that  the  substitute  could 
take  up  the  easier  work  of  a  lower  grade. 


DETAILS  OF  ADAPTATION 


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DETAILS  OF  ADAPTATION  93 

II.  Records  and  Reports 

The  record  of  each  pupil's  work  should 
be  recorded  as  it  is  performed.  It  should 
be  made  in  each  subject  and  given  by  the 
teacher  of  that  subject.  Records  should 
always  be  proportionate  to  educational 
value.  Reports  may  be  collected  by  the 
class  teacher  and  made  to  supervisors  and 
parents  as  recorded.  It  is  highly  essential 
that  the  record  of  individual  pupils  be  re- 
corded and  reported  to  parents  and  super- 
visors of  departments,  and  exactly  as  given 
in  those  departments. 

12.  Spelling  and  Penmanship 

Every  departmental  teacher,  as  he  is  also 
an  English  teacher,  should  be  very  watch- 
ful of  and  largely  responsible  for  all  the 
spelling  and  penmanship  done  in  his  de- 
partment. This  subject  is  a  proper  one  for 
conference. 

It  may  be  helpful  to  suggest  one  means 
of  perfecting  the  use  of  written  English 


94  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

throughout  the  departments.  Fifteen  per 
cent,  of  every  piece  of  written  work  might 
be  agreed  upon  as  its  English  valuation. 
One  per  cent,  might  be  deducted  for  each 
misspelled  word,  one  per  cent,  for  each 
error  in  capitalization  or  punctuation,  five 
per  cent,  or  more  for  poor  penmanship  and 
other  errors.  All  deductions  are  to  be 
made  from  the  mark  attained  in  the  given 
subject  on  the  paper  being  considered  up 
to  the  maximum  of  fifteen  per  cent.  This 
plan  could  be  worked  without  any  maxi- 
mum. Also,  to  a  limited  extent,  papers  may 
be  rewritten  for  the  sake  of  English  form. 

13.   Text-books  and  Supplies 

As  far  as  possible  each  departmental 
teacher  should  have  charge  of  the  text- 
books and  supplies  which  belong  to  his 
work. 

14.  Fire  Drills  and  Regular  Dismissals 

At  the  sound  of  the  fire  alarm  each 
teacher   should   take   charge   of   the   class 


DETAILS  OF  ADAPTATION  95 

under  his  immediate  control,  and  proceed 
as  directed  for  classes  in  his  room.  Class 
teachers  should  receive  and  dismiss  their 
classes  at  regular  entrances  and  dismissals. 

15.  Detention 

If  children  are  detained  after  school 
hours  difficulty  will  arise  from  the  fact  that 
two  or  three  teachers  will  require  the  same 
pupils  at  the  same  time.  This  conflict  may 
be  easily  overcome  by  a  plan  which  pro- 
vides that  each  department  or  teacher  may 
detain  only  for  a  certain  day  of  each  week. 
Thus,  the  teacher  of  history  may  be  given 
the  first  right  to  detain  delinquent  pupils 
on  Monday. 

16.  Signals 

The  best  plan  for  signals  is  doubtless  to 
ring  the  call-bell  twice  to  give  notice  of  the 
end  of  the  period.  Each  teacher  knows 
then  that  he  has  a  certain  period  (three  to 
five  minutes)  in  which  to  prepare  his  class 
for  the  passage  to  another  room.     At  the 


96  DEPARTMENTAL   TEACHING 

end  of  this  brief  period  the  call-bell  should 
ring  once  and  all  classes  may  march  in 
order  to  the  assigned  room. 

17.  Location  of  Departments 

The  classrooms  used  by  any  departmental 
division  should  be  as  near  together  as  pos- 
sible, as  the  movement  of  classes  is  liable  to 
disturb  pupils  not  in  the  departmental  plan. 

18.  Management  of  School  Implements 

The  distribution,  collection,  and  proper 
care  of  pencils,  pens,  rulers,  and  other  arti- 
cles is  one  of  the  most  unsatisfactorily  con- 
ducted exercises  in  the  public  schools.  A 
large  amount  of  time  and  money  is  wasted 
in  the  confusion  of  the  process  and  the  loss 
of  material.  A  still  greater  waste  is  the 
loss  to  education  in  that  so  many  teachers 
are  quite  willing  to  work  without  proper 
implements  or  with  none  rather  than  as- 
sume the  responsibility  of  their  care.  Ex- 
ercises that  should  thus  be  enriched  by  use- 


DEPARTMENTAL    TEACHING 
Plate  XI 


Fully  extended  showing  how  each  article  is  held  in  place 


Closed    ready  for  carrying 


On  desk   ready   for  use 
Pupil's   Box    for   holding  Pencils    and   other   Articles 


DETAILS   OF  ADAPTATION  97 

ful  tools  are  reduced  to  little  more  than  a 
barren  lecture. 

A  child  should  be  given  the  essential 
tools  for  all  his  lessons,  and  held  responsible 
for  their  condition.  He  should  use  the 
same  implements  at  all  times,  and,  there- 
fore, they  must  be  often  inspected.  When  a 
pupil  leaves  his  classroom  to  enter  other 
departmental  rooms,  he  should  take  with 
him  such  books  as  he  needs  together  with 
his  regular  school  implements,  which  may 
be  carried  in  a  tin  box  suitably  arranged 
for  that  purpose.  In  this  way  all  delay 
in  giving  out  and  taking  up  material  in 
each  department  will  be  avoided. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
MISTAKES  IN  ADAPTATION 

The  view  of  departmental  teaching 
hereinbefore  presented  has  been  the  posi- 
tive form.  If  there  is  general  agreement 
as  to  the  value  of  the  plan  presented,  then 
mistakes  in  adaptation  and  use  will  be 
found  in  the  failure  to  conform  to  its  gen- 
eral requirements.  It  is  doubtless  profita- 
ble, however,  to  call  attention  to  the  more 
common  errors  which  are  customarily 
made. 

Many  principals  introduce  a  system  of 
teaching  which  they  call  departmental  that 
has.  little  or  no  relation  to  any  approved 
method.  They  actually  invite  disaster  by 
their  own  errors. 

Another  class  of  principals  are  conduct- 
ing departmental  teaching,  as  it  were,  "by 
main  strength."     It  is  applied  in  such  a 

way  that  the  ordinary  changing  conditions 

98 


MISTAKES  IN  ADAPTATION  99 

of  the  school  affect  it  too  much.  New 
school  terms,  new  teachers,  absences,  and 
physical  conditions  entail  unwonted  and 
wasteful  effort.  Usually  this  condition 
follows  an  over-adaptation  of  the  plan. 

A  large  number  of  principals,  therefore, 
hesitate  to  undertake  a  plan  which  seems  to 
be  so  easily  interrupted.  They  fortify  their 
position  by  citing  particular  conditions  in 
their  schools  which  appear  to  them  insur- 
mountable. But  the  point  to  be  made  is 
that  if  departmental  teaching  is  funda- 
mentally more  valuable  than  the  single- 
teacher  plan,  then  it  is  valuable  because,  by 
its  introduction,  conditions  are  positively 
bettered.  If,  then,  the  general  conditions 
of  any  school  are  undesirable,  the  proper 
introduction  of  the  departmental  plan 
should  improve  these  conditions. 

There  may  be  conditions  in  a  given 
school  which  hinder  the  introduction  of 
departmental  teaching,  but  such  instances 
are  extremely  rare.     The  conditions  most 


lOO  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

commonly  offered  as  detrimental  to  depart- 
mental teaching  are  really  only  those  con- 
ditions which  hinder  the  wrong  adaptation 
of  departmental  teaching.  The  plan  of 
departmental  teaching  which  experience 
has  evolved  as  best  is  clearly  one  which 
adapts  itself  rapidly,  and  greatly  improves 
conditions  and  results  in  all  schools,  large 
and  small. 

The  following  errors  in  adaptation  are 
selected  for  discussion  as  most  common. 

I.  All  studies  have  been  department- 
alized. 

This  practice  is  directly  opposed  to  the 
more  flexible  plan  offered  above.  It  is 
truly  over-departmentalization.  It  ignores 
largely  the  first  function  of  the  teacher  by 
providing  no  time  for  its  exercise.  The 
ordinary  physical  changes  involved  in 
school  management  become  too  burden- 
some with  young  children.  Penmanship, 
spelling,  entrances,  dismissals,  deten- 
tions, care  of  books,  clothing  and  supplies 


MISTAKES  IN  ADAPTATION  loi 

all  become   sources   of   endless    difficulty. 

2.  Children  have  remained  in  the  same 
classroom  during  the  entire  day. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  this  error 
could  be  made  in  view  of  the  added  inter- 
est, the  physical  relief,  the  better  equip- 
ment, and  other  gains  made  possible  by  the 
passing  of  pupils  from  one  departmental 
room  to  another. 

The  teacher,  who  is  then  compelled  to  go 
from  room  to  room,  is  either  obliged  to  do 
without  equipment  altogether  or  to  carry 
it  for  instantaneous  adjustment.  This  is 
one  of  the  greatest  objections  to  the  special 
teacher  plan.  Imagine  a  science  teacher 
carrying  apparatus,  or  a  geography  teacher 
carrying  maps  and  globes  from  room  to 
room!  The  example  of  the  high  schools  in 
this  regard  is  ever  present  to  temper  and 
guide  the  elementary  school. 

3.  Music  and  drawing  have  been  as- 
signed to  the  class  teacher. 

Among  the  chief  advantages  of  depart- 


102  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

mental  instruction  are  the  gains  of  expert 
teaching  and  the  enrichment  of  the  course. 
Music  and  drawing  have  suffered  long  for 
want  of  expert  instruction,  and  should  be 
the  last  studies  to  be  left  to  the  class  teacher 
unless,  of  course,  that  teacher  is  a  specialist. 

4.  Class  teachers  have  been  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  discipline  of  their  classes 
at  all  times. 

This  error  is  palpable,  and  one  could 
hardly  imagine  a  college  or  high  school 
pursuing  such  a  scheme. 

The  class  teacher,  however,  may  exert  a 
great  influence  for  good  behavior  over  each 
and  every  member  of  his  class,  and,  indi- 
rectly, his  class  organization  should  sup- 
port the  good  discipline  of  his  class  at  all 
times. 

5.  Teachers  have  been  assigned  to  studies 
in  combinations  unnecessarily  disassociated. 
There  is  evidently  great  loss  of  time  and 
strength  in  preparing  for  expert  teaching 
in  unrelated  studies.     This   refers   partic- 


MISTAKES  IN  ADAPTATION  103 

ularly  to  the  waste  which  follows  the  prac- 
tice of  making  up  a  program,  so  that 
"odds  and  ends",  as  it  were,  are  left  over. 
For  example,  the  science  teacher  must  teach 
a  period  of  grammar  and  another  of  history; 
the  history  teacher  must  take  a  period  of 
arithmetic  and  another  of  composition. 
Every  means  should  be  taken  to  avoid  this 
necessity.  One  of  the  advantages  of  the 
above  plan  of  adaptation  is  that  such  con- 
tingencies are  minimized,  if  not  wholly 
avoided. 

Yet  again,  in  no  sense  should  the  depart- 
mental teacher  become  too  narrow  by  an 
undue  specialization. 

6.  No  head  of  department  has  been 
named  where  two  or  more  teachers  are 
teaching  the  same  subject.  In  large 
schools  two  or  three  teachers  are  often 
teaching  history  or  arithmetic.  Much  is 
gained  by  naming  one  as  a  responsible  head. 

7.  The  study  period  has  been  ineffec- 
tually managed. 


I04 


DEPARTMENTAL   TEACHING 


Some  sort  of  effort  by  way  of  prepara- 
tion should  be  made  by  each  pupil,  un- 
assisted and  unhindered,  before  each  formal 
recitation.  The  study  period  is  very  im- 
portant and  should,  therefore,  be  placed  at 
the  beginning  of  each  session,  and,  if  this  is 
insufficient,  a  part  of  each  recitation  period 
should  be  taken.  The  practice  of  placing 
the  study  period  late  in  the  day  is  ob- 
jectionable, because  the  incentive  or  need 
of  learning  a  lesson  is  too  remote  to  over- 
come the  fatigue  of  children  who  have 
been  in  school  all  day. 

8.  Promotion  marks  have  not  been  pro- 
portionately coordinated. 

The  amount  of  time  given  a  subject  by 
the  program  should  be  paramount  in  de- 
termining the  value  of  each  "A,"  "B,"  or 
"C"  of  a  given  subject.  The  "B"  of  music 
(60  minutes)  should  not  count  the  same 
towards  promotion  as  the  "B"  of  English 
(360  minutes). 

9.  There  has  been   too   much  giving  of 


MISTAKES  IN  ADAPTATION  105 

instruction — not  enough  individual  work 
on  the  part  of  the  pupils. 

There  is  no  valid  reason  why  this  per- 
nicious tendency  should  be  carried  over 
from  the  single-teacher  plan  to  the  de- 
partmental. 

10.  Too  many  teachers  have  taken  part 
in  a  single  departmental  unit. 

In  many  schools  it  has  been  the  practice 
to  unite  all  the  teachers  of  the  last  two  years 
into  one  departmental  division  regardless 
of  the  number.  Surely,  it  needs  no  argu- 
ment to  prove  the  absurdity  of  sending  a 
child  on  a  confusing  round  of  ten  or  twelve 
teachers.  Such  a  practice  is  unknown  in 
high  schools  or  colleges. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
LIMITATIONS 

Departmental  teaching  from  the  nature 
of  the  system  can  be  employed  only  in 
schools  which  fulfil  certain  conditions. 

1.  Size  of  School 

Departmental  teaching  may  be  used  suc- 
cessfully in  any  school  where  there  is  at 
least  one  teacher  for  each  year  of  the  course. 
This  would  mean  that  the  school  of  mini- 
mum size  would  be  one  which  contained  at 
least  eight  teachers  in  the  entire  elementary 
course. 

There  is  no  maximum  size  for  the  school 
containing  departments,  because,  in  very 
large  schools,  such  as  exist  in  some  cities^ 
two  or  more  departmental  units  might  be 
organized.  Proper  relations  between  these 
units  may  be  easily  established. 

2.  Size  of  Class  and  Room 

The  size  of  class  is  not  material  so  long 

io6 


LIMITATIONS  1 07 

as  the  largest  class  can  be  accommodated  in 
any  room. 

Likewise  each  and  every  room  should  be 
large  enough  to  seat  each  class.  The  size 
of  classes  may  vary  to  any  extent  without 
affecting  the  system,  providing  the  above 
requirements  are  met. 

3.  Part  of  the  Course  to  be  Depart- 
mentalized. 

The  work  of  departmentalizing  should 
begin  with  the  last  year,  and  it  may  include 
the  pupils  of  each  lower  year  down  to  the 
fourth.  The  line  of  departure  between  the 
single-teacher  and  departmental  systems 
may  be  drawn  at  any  time  in  the  last  four 
years  that  the  departmental  plan  seems 
about  to  work  itself  out  as  a  complete  whole. 
The  particular  point  of  cleavage  is  imma- 
terial. It  should,  however,  be  kept  in  mind 
that  a  child  is  ready  to  enter  a  modified 
system  of  departmental  teaching  as  soon  as 
he  has  mastered  the  mechanical  parts  of 


Io8  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  There- 
fore, the  departmental  plan  can  be  applied 
to  any  or  all  of  the  last  four  years,  always 
beginning  with  the  last  year. 

4.  Number  of  Teachers 

In  a  departmental  unit,  there  should  not 
be  over  eight  teachers  as  a  maximum,  nor 
less  than  three  teachers  as  a  minimum.  It 
is  quite  evident  that  there  can  be  little  de- 
partmentalization or  expert  teaching  with 
less  than  three  teachers,  but  three  teachers 
may  work  effectively  under  such  a  plan. 

To  allow  a  child  to  meet  more  than  seven 
or  eight  teachers  is  bewildering,  and  carries 
specialization  entirely  too  far.  The  ele- 
mentary course  should  seldom  be  broken 
up  into  so  many  highly  personalized  parts. 

The  preferable  number  of  teachers  to 
employ  in  any  departmental  unit  is  four  or 
five.  This  number  will  usually  suffice  to 
accomplish  the  work,  and  provide  all  the 
profitable  advantages  of  expert  instruction. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

OTHER  PLANS  OF  DEPARTMENTAL 
TEACHING 

I.  The  Study-Hall  Method 

The  study-hall  plan  is  the  most  common 
method  of  using  departmental  teaching  in 
high  schools,  and  it  has  been  employed  in 
many  elementary  schools  for  some  years. 
The  plan  is  conducted  to  the  best  advantage 
when  all  the  pupils  of  a  school  or  depart- 
mental unit  have  desks  in  one  large  hall. 
The  departmental  rooms  in  which  all  teach- 
ing is  done  are  situated  about  the  study 
hall,  and  upon  signals  at  the  beginning  and 
end  of  each  period,  the  classes  move  to  and 
from  the  study  hall,  which  is  reserved 
solely  for  the  preparation  of  lessons. 

The  chief  advantages  of  this  plan  are: 

a.  The     departmental    rooms    may    be 

more  specially  constructed  and  equipped 
109 


no  DEPARTMENTAL   TEACHING 

into  practical  working  laboratories  than 
under  other  systems. 

b.  Economy  of  time  is  gained  in  being 
able  to  examine,  control,  and  direct  an  en- 
tire departmental  division  at  one  time  and 
by  one  teacher. 

The  disadvantages  of  this  plan  are : 

a.  It  destroys  the  possibility  of  a  proper 
personal  control  of  young  children. 

b.  The  study  hall  and  its  management 
present  great  and  peculiar  difficulties. 
The  assemblage  of  large  numbers  in  a  hall 
seems  to  hinder  the  maintenance  of  a  proper 
repose  for  study.  The  teacher  in  charge 
must  discharge  a  peculiar  function  which 
seems  separate  from  the  common  duties 
of  a  teacher,  and  which  can  be  satisfactorily 
performed  by  very  few.  If  a  special  direc- 
tor of  the  study  hall  should  be  employed, 
he  would  be  out  of  touch  with  the  other 
teachers,  and  his  salary  would  entail  addi- 
tional expense. 

c.  This  plan   necessitates  a  special   and 


OTHER  PLANS  OF  TEACHING  m 

expensive  construction  of  the  school  build- 
ing on  account  of  the  extra  seating  required. 

2.  All  Teaching  under  Specialists 

In  many  large  schools  it  has  been  possible 
to  use  a  plan  by  which  each  study  was  as- 
signed to  a  particular  teacher,  who  soon  be- 
came, in  an  elementary  sense,  the  special 
teacher  of  that  subject.  The  children 
never  recite  with  their  class  teacher  in  any 
common  study,  and  in  some  instances  do  not 
meet  with  their  class  teacher  in  any  study. 

The  gain  of  this  plan  is  great  specializa- 
tion of  teaching. 

The  losses  are  difficulty  in  school  man- 
agement, and  in  personal  control  of  and 
responsibility  for  general  results.  Chil- 
dren meet  too  many  different  teachers  dur- 
ing the  week  for  effective  work. 

3.  The  Peripatetic  Method 

There  can  be  no  impropriety  in  terming 
the  plan,  under  which  the  teachers  go  from 
classroom  to  classroom  to  give  instruction 
in  their  specialty,  according  to  the  method 


112  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

of  the  celebrated  Greek.  By  this  method 
each  class  remains  in  its  own  classroom  all 
day.  This  plan  follows  the  practice  of  the 
special  teacher  system,  and  entails  most  of 
its  faults,  but  it  is  by  many  believed  to  main- 
tain a  condition  of  better  discipline. 

It  is  sometimes  tried  in  schools  where 
the  physical  conditions  of  rooms  and  halls 
make  undesirable  the  plan  of  frequent 
movement  of  classes  composed  of  boys  and 
girls.  Where  such  conditions  exist,  it  is 
questionable  whether  departmental  teach- 
ing should  be  tried  at  all. 

4.  A  Departmental  Unit  for  each  Year 

In  some  large  schools  a  departmental 
division  has  been  organized  in  the  eighth 
year  and  one  in  the  seventh.  Others  have 
adopted  this  plan  by  beginning  in  the 
eighth  year  and  completing  the  division  in 
the  seventh  or  lower  and  then  beginning 
where  the  first  division  ended  to  form  an- 
other in  the  sixth  and  fifth. 

The  gains  of  this  plan  are  that:  first,  it 


OTHER  PLANS  OF  TEACHING  113 

keeps  the  number  of  teachers  in  a  division 
at  the  most  effective  number;  second,  it  pro- 
motes more  intensive  specialization  by  less- 
ening the  amount  of  subject  matter  to  be 
covered  by  each  teacher. 

However,  there  is  a  great  loss  in  con- 
tinuity of  teaching  one  subject  and  respon- 
sibility for  results  in  that  subject,  due  to 
the  fact  that  tvs^o  or  more  teachers  follow 
one  another  in  specializing  the  same  sub- 
ject in  the  same  school.  The  first  form 
of  the  fourth  plan  is  very  objectionable 
because,  if  the  point  of  cleavage  between 
divisions  is  made  at  the  end  of  each  year, 
great  difficulty  will  be  found  in  making  a 
program  and  providing  the  proper  num- 
ber of  teachers,  as  the  number  of  pupils 
varies  with  each  term. 

Modifications  of  the  above  plans  have 
been  tried,  but  the  plan  that  employs  a  com- 
mon study  is  surely  best  adapted  to  all  the 
present  conditions  of  public  schools. 


CHAPTER  X. 
GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS 

1.  Optional  Introduction 

Until  departmental  teaching  is  popularly 
accepted,  it  should  be  introduced  in  each 
school  at  the  option  of  the  principal  and 
teachers.  This  will  mitigate  the  effect  of 
a  reaction,  which  is  bound  to  set  in,  as  well 
as  enhance  the  genuine  worth  of  the  new 
plan  of  teaching.  Departmental  teaching 
in  the  elementary  school  is  so  radical  a  de- 
parture from  the  single-teacher  plan  that 
its  success  must  always  presuppose  an  en- 
thusiastic faculty,  and  the  adoption  of  an 
effective  plan. 

2.  Preparation  of  Teachers 

The  preparation  of  teachers  for  depart- 
mental teaching  will  become  a  problem  by 
itself. 

The  striking  peculiarity  of  the  plan,  how- 
ever, is  that  the  very  organization  of  de- 

"4 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  115 

partments  in  a  school  tends  to  the  rapid 
development  of  expert  teachers,  that  is, 
teachers  who  are  at  least  elementary  special- 
ists. So  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  system 
itself  becomes  its  own  teachers'  training 
school. 

But  how  will  the  departmental  method 
affect  the  teachers'  training  and  normal 
schools? 

For  a  long  time  students  in  these  schools 
have  shown  a  marked  tendency  to  prepare 
themselves   only  in  some  specialty.     This 
has  promoted  the  training  of  high  school 
teachers    more     than    elementary    school 
teachers.     The  very  greatest  difficulty  has 
been  to  prepare  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
old  fashioned  all-around  teachers  for  the 
elementary  schools.    Thus  there  is  now  and  . 
will  be  a  great  dearth  of  properly  prepared 
elementary  teachers.     Then,   too,   the  de-   . 
mands  of  the  elementary  school  have  in-  > 
creased    greatly.      A    few   years    ago    the 
teacher  who  could  teach  a  smattering  of 


Ii6  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geography, 
history  and  music  sufficed  for  most  elemen- 
tary schools ;  now,  he  must  be  able  to  teach 
according  to  approved  methods,  the  Eng- 
lish branches,  arithmetic,  algebra,  geome- 
try, geography,  nature  study,  history,  civics, 
ethics,  science,  physiology,  hygiene,  phys- 
ical training,  drawing,  construction,  cook- 
ing, sewing,  and  music. 

If  the  above  list  were  in  the  least  over- 
drawn, it  might  become  a  source  of  amuse- 
ment, but  it  is  too  tragically  true.  Teach- 
ers cannot  be  prepared  to  teach  properly 
the  meager  elements  of  one-half  of  this  cur- 
riculum. Therefore,  the  normal  school 
must  sooner  or  later  prepare  teachers  for 
the  elementary  school  only  in  the  pedagogic 
branches,  the  English  branches,  and  a  de- 
partmental branch. 

3.  Examination  of  Teachers 

Those  directing  the  examination  and 
selection  of  teachers  under  a  departmental 
system  must  sooner  or  later  recognize  that 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  117 

teachers  cannot  be  examined  critically  in  all 
the  branches  which  are  now  presented  in 
the  elementary  curriculum.  A  teacher  can 
properly  prepare  only  to  qualify  in  peda- 
gogy, English,  and  a  special  subject. 

The  academic  part  of  an  entrance  exam- 
ination should  then  consist  of  no  more  than 
the  above  divisions  comprehend. 

4.  Comparative  Results 

The  determination  of  the  comparative 
results  of  the  single-teacher  and  depart- 
mental methods  must  evidently  be  broadly 
conducted  or  very  little  of  value  will  be 
shown. 

To  examine  a  number  of  schools,  which 
use  both  methods,  in  two  or  three  subjects 
of  the  curriculum  only  is  surely  worthless 
as  a  true  basis  of  comparative  valuation. 
Or,  to  examine  a  school  before  the  introduc- 
tion of  departmental  teaching,  and  then 
afterward  to  reexamine  in  two  or  three  sub- 
jects only  is  quite  as  valueless  as  a  compar- 
ative test. 


Il8  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

One  of  the  greatest  advantages  of  depart- 
mental teaching  is  that  it  enriches  the  course 
of  study  by  giving  to  each  branch  its  pro- 
portionate time  under  an  expert  instructor. 

Now,  it  is  one  of  the  most  patent  deficien- 
cies of  the  elementary  school  that,  regard- 
less of  the  course  and  the  program,  certain 
studies  only  are  taught  and  other  studies  are 
slighted. 

It  is  probably  no  exaggeration  to  state 
that  in  many  classes  where  arithmetic  was 
supposed  to  be  taught  for  forty  minutes  per 
day,  that  it  was  taught  for  two  hours,  and 
those  hours,  the  best  of  the  morning.  So, 
to  examine  schools  using  both  methods  in 
arithmetic  and  grammar  and  to  expect  to 
draw  therefrom  comparative  results  is  idle. 
Any  test  to  be  of  value  must  be  compre- 
hensive. 

5.   Units  of  Work 

The  value  of  recognizing  the  work  that 
a  child  does,  rather  than  the  time  that  he 
spends  in  school,  is  of  the  greatest  impor- 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  119 

tance.  The  graded  school  of  our  great 
cities  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  form  of  "mass 
education"  in  its  purest  form.  All  agree 
that  children  are  promoted  when  unfit,  and 
held  back  when  ready  for  advancement. 
Whole  classes,  possessing  the  most  striking 
individual  variation  in  attainment,  move 
forward  in  order  that  a  higher  grade  and 
classroom  may  be  filled.  The  only  com- 
mon element  among  these  children  is  that 
of  the  time  spent  in  school.  From  the  nec- 
essities of  the  graded  system,  under  the 
single-teacher  plan,  the  time  unit  must  con- 
tinue to  be  the  paramount  factor  in  require- 
ments for  promotion.  Departmental  teach- 
ing gives  an  opportunity  to  recognize  the 
units  of  work.  There  lie  before  me  the 
catalogues  of  a  prominent  university  and  a 
high  school,  in  which  the  students'  names 
are  arranged  alphabetically,  and  after  each 
name  there  is  placed  the  earned  credit  of 
work.  When  the  requisite  number  of 
"work-units"  have  been  credited,  the  stu- 


I20  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

dent  has  standing  in  the  next  higher  grade. 
The  best  promise,  then,  of  departmental 
education  is  in  the  fact  that  it  makes  pos- 
sible the  division  into  "work-units"  of  the 
course  in  each  department,  and  the  credit- 
ing of  each  pupil  only  upon  his  mastery  of 
a  "work-unit." 

Departmental  teaching  ought  to  make 
the  idea  prevail  that,  when  a  child  has  ac- 
complished a  certain  unit  of  work,  he 
should  have  credit  for  the  same  and  should 
not  be  asked  to  repeat  it.  He  should  be 
made  to  feel  that  school  is  not  the  mere 
service  of  time,  but  a  service  of  definite  ac- 
complishment. 

6.  Laboratory  Work 

The  system  which  emphasizes  a  plan, 
where  each  child  can  go  into  a  department, 
and  seek  information  and  do  work  as  an 
individual,  is  surest  to  succeed.  It  is  true 
that  a  child  cannot  successfully  carry  out 
this  plan  to  the  same  extent  that  a  college 
fitudent  can,  but,  within  the  limits  of  child- 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  121 

ish  application,  he  can  learn  most  rapidly 
by  performing  set  tasks  in  a  well  equipped 
room.  This  kind  of  work  is  but  a  part  of 
his  school  routine,  yet  it  is  an  essential  part, 
and  to  neglect  to  provide  it  for  him  is  to 
fail  to  provide  the  most  natural  and  neces- 
sary means  of  development. 

7.  Individual  Education. 

Through  the  placing  of  greater  re- 
sponsibility upon  each  child,  and  the 
increasing  of  his  opportunities  for  self- 
restraint  and  self-direction,  under  the 
departmental  plan,  one  of  the  most  funda- 
mentally educative  processes  is  emphasized. 
The  pupil,  while  acting  with  others,  learns 
to  act  under  direction  of  his  own  free  voli- 
tion. Real  individual  education  is  made 
possible.  This  is  directly  opposed  to  the 
"mothering"  plan  which  has  been  fostered 
by  the  single-teacher  system  and  defended 
by  many  educators.  This  "mothjering"  has 
led  to  a  most  pernicious  system  of  over- 
helpfulness  in  the  elementary  school.    The 

8 


122  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

child  has  been  deprived  of  proper  oppor- 
tunities for  initiative,  invention,  and  self- 
mastery. 

All  kinds  of  pretty  things  have  been  said 
about  the  motherly  teacher.  This  senti- 
mental tendency  has  fostered  the  so-called 
"soft"  education.  The  school  is  no  place 
for  "mothering;"  it  should  be  a  place  for 
work.  If  a  child  is  so  young  as  to  need  a 
mother  send  him  home.  There  is  not,  or 
should  not,  be  any  substitute  for  a  real 
mother.  Not  that  teachers  should  not  be 
kind,  gentle,  and  wisely  helpful,  but  a 
school  is  not  great  because  it  is  homelike, 
but  because  it  is  truly  school-like. 

Individual  education  is  again  intensified 
by  the  fact  that  the  child,  as  a  result  of  the 
influence  of  several  teachers,  is  better  able 
to  see,  compare,  and  choose  the  strongest 
characteristics  of  each.  Under  one  teacher 
he  is  liable  to  acquire  any  objectionable 
peculiarity  which  may  be  possessed  by  his 
teacher. 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  123 

Whether  the  departmental  teacher  gives, 
or  probably  will  give,  greater  individual 
attention  to  each  pupil  is  quite  another 
matter.  But  it  must  be  noted  that,  so  far  as 
time  is  concerned,  the  teacher,  under  the 
departmental  system,  has  just  the  same  time 
to  devote  to  each  pupil  in  each  of  the 
pupil's  studies  as  he  had  under  the  single- 
teacher  plan.  Effectiveness  in  individual 
education  is  not  comprehended  by  the  no- 
tion that  each  teacher  should  give  time  to 
each  pupil  to  attain  it,  but  it  is  rather 
expressed  in  the  notion  that  the  method  of 
each  teacher  and  the  organization  of  each 
school  should  give  the  maximum  oppor- 
tunity for  every  pupil  to  act  freely  in  at- 
taining any  given  purpose. 

Departmental  teaching  is  simply  a 
method  of  school  and  class  organization 
which  tends  to  offer  this  freedom.  Teach- 
ers under  this  system  may  be  highly  in- 
dividualistic in  teaching  or  not.  Their 
opportunities  in  this  regard  do  not  differ 


124  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

materially  under  either  the  departmental  or 
the  single-teacher  system.  But,  as  has  been 
stated,  each  pupil  has  a  greatly  superior 
opportunity  of  being  differentiated  in  his 
attainments  from  all  other  pupils. 


APPENDIX 

SPECIAL  DESCRIPTION  OF 
ILLUSTRATIONS 

Special  Departmental  Room 

The  full  development  of  the  common 
subject  plan  of  departmental  teaching  will 
result  in  the  condition  that  the  class  teacher 
who  specializes  manual  training  and  draw- 
ing, for  example,  will  be  obliged  either  to 
use  one  room  for  his  common  subject  and 
another  for  his  specialty  or  combine  the  two 
equipments  as  shown  in  Plate  I,  page  68. 

This  suggestion  of  combination  presup- 
poses that  in  each  school  building  two  or 
three  such  rooms  should  be  constructed  out 
of  every  twelve.  Science  and  cooking  work 
also  demand  the  same  development  in 
equipment. 

125 


126  DEPARTMENTAL   TEACHING 

A  Model  Common-Study  Program 
Plate  VI,  on  page  80  shows  the  time  of 
the  common  subject  brought  out  in  propor- 
tionate contrast  to  the  time  for  the  depart- 
mental studies.  The  common  subject  takes 
up  the  most  effective  part  of  the  school  day 
for  the  work  of  any  class  with  its  own  class 
teacher.  In  adapting  this  model,  each 
school  must  modify  according  to  particular 
conditions. 

Attendance  Records 

Where  classes  are  large  some  time-saving 
device  must  be  used  to  record  attendance  in 
the  departments.  The  first  plan,  found  on 
Plate  VIII,  page  89,  shows  a  leaf  of  a  book 
to  be  carried  by  a  trusted  member  of  the 
class  acting  as  president  or  secretary.  He 
presents  the  book  in  turn  to  each  depart- 
mental teacher  who  verifies  and  signs  it, 
the  custodian  then  returns  the  book  each 
day  to  his  class  teacher. 

The  second  form,  on  page  88  (Plate  VII) 


APPENDIX  127 

is  ruled  so  as  to  comprehend  the  record  of 
one  month  on  one  page.  Circles  are  made 
by  the  secretary  to  indicate  "excused  from 
room",  horizontal  lines  to  indicate  absence, 
and  lines  drawn  across  circle  to  indicate 
return  to  classroom.  Vertical  lines  are 
drawn  by  class  teacher  as  a  means  of  check- 
ing. 

Monthly  Report  Card 
The  principal  advantage  of  the  monthly 
report  given  on  pages  91  and  92  is  that 
it  gives  each  departmental  teacher  an  op- 
portunity to  record  the  work  of  each  pupil 
in  his  department.  The  blank  spaces  after 
English  may  be  used  for  any  other  subjects 
that  the  teacher  cares  to  report  upon. 

Model  Programs 

The  programs  shown  on  pages  73,  74,  75, 
and  76  are  an  adaptation  for  four  classes  of 
the  model  program. 

The  meanings  of  the  abbreviations  used 


128  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

are  believed  to  be  obvious  for  the  most  part, 
but  a  few  are  here  expanded : 
8B — Second  half  of  eighth  school  year 
8A — First  half  of  eighth  school  year 
7B — Second  half  of  seventh  school  year 
7A — First  half  of  seventh  school  year 

A — ^Arithmetic  or  Mathematics 

C — Composition 
Cor — Correspondence 

D — Drawing 
Die — Dictation 

G — Geography 
Gr — Grammar 

H — History 

L — Literature 

M — Music 
MT — Manual  Training 

P — Penmanship 

R — Reading 
Sp — Spelling 
S — Science 


APPENDIX 


129 


Box  for  Articles  used  by  Pupils 

The  illustrations  of  a  receptacle  for  the 
common  articles  used  by  all  children  in 
school  work,  given  facing  page  97,  show 
a  device  that  has  been  tried  with  excel- 
lent results.  It  may  be  used  to  hold  any 
or  all  of  the  following  common  articles: 
Drawing  pencil,  writing  pencils,  pen  ruler, 
blotter,  eraser,  compass,  scissors,  protractor, 
triangle,  pins,  thumb  tacks,  paper  fasteners, 
pen  wiper,  and  pencil  sharpener.  It  is 
carried  easily  along  with  the  books  from 
room  to  room.     Its  chief  advantages  are: 

1.  Cleanliness  and  health. 

Every  pupil  always  uses  the  same  articles 
at  all  times.  They  can  be  cleaned,  and  they 
never  come  in  contact  with  the  material  of 
any  other  child. 

2.  Economy. 

It  saves  a  great  amount  of  time  in  giving 
out,  collecting,  counting,  and  caring  for 
material.      It   also    saves   expense   in   that 


I30  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

the  responsibility  placed  upon  each  child 
through  an  easy  inspection  prevents  loss  of 
articles. 

3.  Educative  life  process. 

It  is  essential  to  all  right  living  that  every 
worker  shall  have  a  place  for  his  tools  and 
product.  Responsibility  for  tools  cannot  be 
taught  children  unless  a  place  for  them  be 
provided.  Only  then  can  they  be  taught 
how  to  care  for  property  in  a  careful  and 
economical  way. 


Methods   in   Elementary 
School  Studies 

By  BERNARD  CRONSON,  A.  B.,  Ph.D.,  Principal  of 
Public  school,  No.  3,  New  York  City.  i2mo.  Cloth. 
167  pages.    $1.25  net. 

This  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  author's  lectures  on  teaching  the 
principal  branches  in  the  elementary  course.  The  subjects  treated  arc 
reading,  dictation  (including  spelling,  paragraphing,  etc.,)  composition, 
grammar,  literature,  nature  study,  geography,  history,  civics  and  arith- 
metic. The  book  is  interleaved  with  blank  pages,  making  it  a  conveni- 
ent note  book  for  the  lecture  room  in  normal  schools  and  training 
schools,  as  well  as  for  teachers  in  general. 

Classroom  Management:  Its 
Principles  and  Technique 

By  WILLIAM  CHANDLER  BAGLEY,  Superintendent 
of  the  Training  Department,  State  Normal  School, 
Oswego,  N.  Y.  i2mo.  Cloth,  xvii+352  pages.  $1.25 
net. 

This  book  considers  the  problems  that  are  involved  in  the  massing 
of  children  together  for  purposes  of  instruction  and  training  It  aims  to 
discover  how  the  unit  group  of  the  school  system— the  "class" — can  be 
most  effectively  handled.  The  topics  commonly  included  in  treatises 
upon  school  management  receive  adequate  attention:  the  first  day  at 
school;  the  mechanizing  of  routine;  the  daily  program;  discipline  and 
punishment;  absence  and  tardiness,  etc.  In  addition  to  these,  however, 
a  number  of  subjects  hitherto  neglected  in  books  of  this  class  are  pre- 
sented: The  "Batavia  system"  of  class-individual  instruction;  different 
plans  for  testing  the  efficiency  of  teaching;  a  new  treatment  of  school 
incentives  based  upon  modern  psychology;  and  a  formulation  of  the 
generally  accepted  principles  of  professional  ethics  as  applied  to  school- 
craft.  Appendices  include  plates  showing  quality  of  work  that  can  be 
expected  from  pupils  of  different  grades  and  syllabi  of  topics  and 
-questions  for  the  use  of  "observation"  classes. 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

64-66  Fifth  Ave.,  NEW  YORK 

Boston  Chicaeo  Atlanta  San  Francisco 


The  Principles  of  Secondary 
Education 

By  CHARLES  DeGARMO,  Professor  of  the  Science  and 
Art  of  Education  in  Cornell  University.  i2mo.  Cloth. 
xii+299  pages.     $1.25  net. 

The  author  discusses  the  social  and  individual  presuppositions  un- 
derlying American  secondary  education;  the  chief  bases  for  the  selec- 
tion of  studies;  the  classification  of  studies  according  to  the  nature  of 
their  content;  the  function  and  relative  educational  worth  of  various 
studies  and  study  groups;  and  the  organization  of  studies  into  curricula. 
The  ample  scope  of  Professor  DeGarmo's  work  and  the  thoroughness  of 
his  analysis  will  commend  this  book  to  teachers  as  a  text-book  of  unusual 
value. 

A  Brief  Course  in  the  History 
of  Education 

By  CHARLES  MONROE,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Education 
in  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University.  i2mo. 
Cloth,    xviii+409  pages.     $1.35  net. 

This  is  practically  a  condensation  of  Professor  Monroe's  "Text- 
book in  the  History  of  Education,"  issued  more  than  two  years  ago,  and 
Still  the  most  extensive  work  on  the  subject  in  English.  The  present 
abbreviation  has  been  made  in  answer  to  the  demands  of  normal  schools 
and  teachers*  training  classes  which  have  not  the  time  to  devote  to  the 
study  of  the  larger  text.  Nevertheless  it  treats  of  all  the  general 
periods,  and  of  most  of  the  topics  discussed  in  the  larger  work. 

Methods  in  Teaching 

Being  the  Stockton  Method  in  Elementary  Schools.  By 
MRS.  ROSA  V.  WINTERBURN,  of  Los  Angeles, 
and  JAMES  A.  BARR,  Superintendent  of  Schools  at 
Stockton, Cal.  i2mo.  Cloth,  xxii-f 355  pages.  $1.25  net. 

This  book  is  the  direct  product  of  the  schoolrooms.  It  treats  the 
presentation  of  subject-matter  in  the  various  studies  usually  taught  in 
element  iry  schools  from  three  points  of  view— that  of  the  superintendent 
or  supervisor,  of  the  teacher  and  of  the  pupil.  The  book  grew  out  of 
the  exhibit  made  by  the  Stockton  schools  at  the  Exposition  in  St.  Louis, 
and  later  in  Portland,  which  attracted  widespread  attention  because  of 
the  honesty  of  the  pupils'  work,  the  "method  sheets"  by  teachers,  and 
the  efficiency  of  results.  Many  compositions  by  young  pupils  trained 
under  this  method  are  given. 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

64-66  Fifth  Ave.,  NEW  YORK 

BottOB  Chicago  Atlanta  San  Francisco 


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